Collision
by G-Town Hoya
Summary: When a terrorist financier begins killing college aged women the FBI and CIA collide and Emily Prentiss is caught between Aaron Hotchner and CIA black ops Agent Peter Quinn in an inter-agency love triangle. Will her past and Ian Doyle jeopardize her future? Set in season 6 and includes the entire team with JJ instead of Seaver. NOT a Homeland crossover. Warning: Strong Language
1. Collision

**This an idea I've been toying with for a while now. Tell me in the comments section if you're interested in reading on. Reviews keep me motivated so please leave one if you're interested in this story. **

**This story takes place in season 6, but JJ is in it instead of Ashley Seaver. Additionally this is not a crossover, there are just a few Homeland characters referenced. **

**As always I own nothing, I borrow.**

"Our unsub is Iranian national Hamid Farhat, fifty-eight year old Professor of Middle Eastern Studies at the University of Maryland. He will probably not be armed and should be easy to apprehend. Garcia had pulled up aerial photos of his residence" Hotch said as he nodded to Garcia to begin.

The team was currently in a sleepy Maryland police precinct preparing to apprehend their latest unsub. Hamid Farhat had been killing young blonde college students, first sexual violating them with foreign objects before strangling them to death with neckties. Ultimately it had been Rossi who had broken the case with his hunch about a sexually frustrated local professor.

Garcia nodded back to Hotch, taking the hint and carrying on, "Farhat's Potomoac, Maryland home is at the end of cul-de-sac and the property actually spans four acres and contains three buildings, the main house, the guest house and the office."

"Because of Farhat's patterns he could be in any of the buildings so I want to breach them simultaneously. Team A will be myself and Prentiss and we will be taking the main house. Team B will be Rossi and JJ, you will be taking the office. Team C will consist of Morgan and Reid who will check the guest house and garage for good measure. Does everyone understand their assignments?" The team shook their head in agreement, "Okay let's suit up and go."

The short ride over to the Farhat residence was quiet, and awkward. Hotch and Emily hardly ever rode alone together to begin with, and they did so even less after the Foyet incident. It wasn't unknown, well to Garcia and JJ anyway, that Emily harbored a crush on the team leader. In many ways he was the forbidden fruit, at first he was married and he was always her boss. FBI fraternization was taboo enough without the boss-employee factor. However, after Foyet things changed. At first, after the stabbing, Hotch seemed to open up to Emily, only allowing her into his world of pain. They shared a closeness that made Emily believe that maybe, just maybe, one day they might just end up together. But after Haley died their dynamic shifted again, with Hotch pushing Emily away.

It was almost as if he felt guilty about harboring feelings for someone else, as if he was cheating on his dead wife, the mother of his child. Aaron Hotchner was a good man, that's what drew Emily to him. But his inherit goodness is what motivated him to box her out. That coupled with the fact that Hotch had nothing else but his son and his job made also made him wary of the raven haired profiler. Sure, Strauss was being lenient with him now, but what would she think if she found out he was dating his subordinate? A woman that she didn't much care for anyway. No, any thoughts Aaron Hotchner had about dating Emily Prentiss were pushed aside, which made the car ride so awkward. Well that and how he had asked her to wait for him. He knew it wasn't fair, quite frankly it was a shitty thing to do. Nevertheless, even if Hotch couldn't have Emily he didn't want anyone else to have her either. Was it selfish? Yes. But doesn't everyone have a right to be selfish every once and while?

"No traffic" Emily quietly uttered, trying to break the awkward silence in the car.

"Yeah" was all Hotch replied back. He heard Emily sigh as stared straight ahead through the windshield. She normally preferred to ride with Morgan, or Rossi, or JJ, or even Reid, anyone but him. "You get the door, I'll run point. Be careful" he said efficiently as they exited the car.

* * *

They quickly moved to the back door entry point and Hotch radioed in to the rest of the team, "Team A in position. Team B?"

"Ready" JJ replied.

"C?"

"We're good" Morgan spoke over the mics.

"Okay in 3-2-1" Hotch counted down as Emily kicked in the door and he ran into the kitchen, clearing room by room with Emily right behind him. He liked working with her, he trusted her abilities. Hotch knew she was good. She was as good as Morgan when it came to clearing a room, and if Hotch was being honest with himself he knew she was better than him.

"Clear" JJ radioed in.

"Garage and guest house clear too" Morgan echoed.

Hotch just nodded over to Emily who immediately knew what he was conveying, the unsub was in the main house. After making it through the first floor Emily took the lead up the stairs. Hotch directed her to clear the bedrooms on the north side of the second floor as he checked the master suite and the study. Hotch vigilantly entered into the study, but he must have missed something because he felt someone hit the gun out of his hand.

"Fuck" he murmured as he began to wrestle with the other man, who had the element of surprise on his side. He elbowed the other man in what he assumed to be the nose, but his counterpart used the opportunity to grab his hand and twist him around pining him against the bookcase. A few books crashed down, which caught Emily's attention in the bedroom.

"What do you think you are doing here?" A smooth calm male voice asked Hotch, who struggled against him and was desperately trying to get free.

"I could ask you the same question" Emily replied as she pushed the barrel of her gun against the back of his head. She knew it wasn't the unsub, he was too tall and lean to be the plump middle-aged professor they were looking for. "Step away from Agent Hotchner and put your hands in the air" she commanded in a loud voice.

The man chuckled, "FBI huh? I never was too impressed with the training."

"Yeah and who are you?" Emily demanded in a stern tone as the man lifted his arms in the air and turned around to face her.

"Peter Quinn, CIA. And I believe you are impeding on my investigation."

"Your investigation?" Emily scoffed.

He looked around the room and gave a small smile, "I believe it is above your clearance level Agent."

Emily shook her head, she never was one to back down from a challenge. "Show me your credentials."

"I don't do credentials."

"You don't do credentials? Well do you do handcuffs?" Emily rhetorically asked as she cuffed Quinn.

Hotch didn't know what to think about the banter between the two, but he didn't like it. "You're coming with us until this is sorted out. Where is Farhat?" Hotch sternly inquired of the man in front of him.

"Wouldn't I like to know?" Quinn answered cryptically as Emily led him out of the house and into the Bureau issued black SUV. JJ gave her a questioning look to which Emily just shrugged in reply to. She really had no idea who this guy was, but she didn't trust him. "I think I'd like my phone call now" Quinn quietly said as he intensely gazed out of the car window as the SUV pulled into the empty precinct parking lot.

"And I'd like my unsub" Emily shot back as Hotch glared at her. He knew this was going to be a long night.

**If I continue this story there WILL be Prentiss/Hotch flashbacks. **

**Also, I'm debating what to do next. Tell me in the reviews section which Criminal Minds couple, involving Prentiss, you'd like me to write about. I may end up doing a one-shot about the couple of your choice. **


	2. A Brewing Love Triangle?

**I am working on finishing another story so I probably won't update this as much unless I get a lot of reviews. ****Please be patient with me. **

**And if you've never seen Homeland don't worry about it, you don't have to be familiar with the show to follow this story. Just google Peter Quinn so you'll have an idea of what he looks like.**

**Additonally, as I said earlier this takes place in season 6 pre-Doyle, but Doyle WILL appear. Peter Quinn's storyline is what I imagine for him after season 3 of Homeland. If you don't watch the show it really doesn't matter, anything that is relevant from Homeland to this story will be told in flashbacks. **

**I hope everyone likes this story, keep in mind though that Emily will have to choose between Hotch and Quinn. **

"Prentiss can I please talk to you?" Hotch more ordered than asked after they both deposited Quinn in the precinct's interrogation room. The two brown-haired agents weaved through the building until they found a quieter place to talk, away from the prying eyes of their team. "What was that?" Hotch questioned with his arms crossed, sounding mildly irritated.

Emily tilted her head to the side and raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"You should have let me talk to him."

"And you can, he's waiting for you. And apparently a phone call" Emily replied not too amused by her boss' behavior.

Hotch quickly scanned the empty hallway before continuing on, "I don't trust him and I want you to stay away from him."

"Hotch are you telling me this as a boss or as whatever we are? Because I am getting so sick of all of the confusion."

"I know but it has to be this way" Hotch insisted as he considered reaching out to touch her, only to stuff his hands into his pockets. "We work together."

Emily scoffed at the defense, "Well I am telling you this as your inferior then, I don't trust Quinn either but _sir" _she said as she overemphasized the term, "I do not need anyone to protect me. Least of all you Aaron Hotchner." He furrowed his brow in frustration as Emily briskly started to walk off.

"I'm not saying you need protection. I just don't like you talking with him."

"Why? Explain to me why? Give me a good reason not to. Just give me one reason to never to talk to him again" she requested. But they both knew they weren't just talking about Quinn, they were talking about any other men in general. All Emily wanted was one sign that she and Hotch still had a chance. All he had to give her was one reason, three words, eight letters. "Eight letters Aaron."

"I can't" he softly uttered after giving her a disappointed look before staring down at the floor.

Emily just shook her head in response as she walked away, leaving him alone in the quiet Maryland police precinct hallway. It wasn't like she expected him to say 'I love you' or anything so serious. All she wanted was for him to say 'I want you.'

* * *

_"Hey, how have you been holding up?" Emily discretely asked in a kind voice as she sat next to Hotch on the plane back from Lockport, New York. They were the only ones still awake on the short flight back to Virginia. The team had saved the family of an undercover cop and for all purposes it had been a success. But Emily could see it in his tortured dark eyes, the eyes that in many ways looked like her own, she could see it taunting him, the idea that he had failed his own family. In their hearts, the team always knew they were fighting a losing battle with Foyet, and to save Jack was an overwhelming success. But to the man who could have "made the __deal," it felt as if he signed his ex-wife's death warrant._

_"I should be asking you that" he quietly replied back as he scanned her bruised body._

_"Well unsubs need to start learning that is takes a lot more for this body to be put out of commission" she said with a smirk. "You know I am here for you right? Whatever you need we're here, I'm here."_

_Hotch took a deep breath as he gazed at the woman in front of him, and that's when he felt it. Guilt. He wanted her, but not in the capacity of a friend, or a colleague. He wanted her and his thoughts about her weren't the thoughts that a grieving ex-husband should have. Not in Aaron Hotchner's mind anyway. "Thank you" he said in the typical professional monotone he always used, quickly dropping the more intimate softer voice he had used with her earlier. _

_"How's Jack?"_

_"He's readjusting" He immediately answered as he looked back down at his case files. "You should go back to your and seat and rest." He knew his short manner had hurt her, but in this instance he had to choose Haley over Emily. This was for Haley. He owed it to her. He briefly glanced up to watch Emily limp back to her chair, obviously more emotionally pained than physically. _

_And that is when Aaron Hotchner first started to lose her and he didn't know how to stop._

* * *

"Okay I have been tasked with staring at pictures of the unsub for like days now and he most certainly did not look like that" Garcia remarked as she pointed to Quinn through the one-way glass.

"I know it was weird. He said he's CIA" JJ admitted as she examined the calm man in front of her. "He's calm."

"He's gorgeous" Garcia sighed as JJ looked at her amused.

"Pen."

"What?" Garcia defended as she saw Quinn get up from his chair and walk up the the glass, tapping on it lightly.

"I know you're watching me. Can you send in the agent that arrested me? You know the agent that held a loaded gun to the back of my head" he requested as he sat back down.

"Jayje!" Garcia scolded as she hit JJ across the arm.

"What?"

"You didn't tell me gumdrop made a love connection out in the field with Broody McSpy over there."

"Pen it was a hardly a 'love connection.' She held a gun to his head and arrested him."

"Please, that's basically foreplay for Emster" Garcia claimed as JJ started to laugh.

"Well you go tell her that our guest is asking for her" JJ directed as she pushed Garcia out of the door and went back to profiling the man in front of her. She didn't know if it was that her skills were lacking, but it seemed to be an impossible task. She concluded that it wasn't her lack of skills, but rather the proficiency of his.

* * *

Garcia left the confines of the interrogation room observation area and walked to the conference room of the precinct. Inside she found Hotch on the phone and the rest of the team sifting through Farhat's financial records, trying to pinpoint where the man had fled to.

"Emily we need you" Garcia stated as Emily nodded and walked over to her friend.

"What's up?"

"What's going on with bossman? He seems ever more Agent Hotchner than usual."

Emily shrugged, "He's trying to get some information on Quinn but he's not having much luck."

"Quinn?"

"Peter Quinn, the guy we just arrested."

"Oh trust me, we're going to get to him" Garcia said with a wink before she went on, "But Hotch seems…"

"Garcia I am not his keeper" Emily interrupted in a firm tone, firmer that she would have normally used with Garcia on any other occasion.

"I know that, but I'm just worried about you two, he's being such a butthead" Garcia whispered as they walked towards the interrogation room.

"Butthead? What are you ten? He's being an asshole" Emily remarked in a curt tone.

Garcia couldn't help but giggle, "Well anyway our secret agent is super hot."

"Whatever" Emily replied as she rolled her eyes and entered into the interrogation room, sitting down at the table across from Quinn. She would never admit it but he was extremely attractive. She already knew he was tall, only marginally shorter than Hotch. He had a lean body which was accentuated by his dark jeans and wrinkled grey button up shirt with the sleeves rolled up, showing his cut forearms. He had also left the first button of the shirt undone, adding to his casual look. His short hair was messier than Hotch's but his gaze was just as intense. However, instead of dark eyes like Hotch, Quinn's eyes were a steel-blue that cut through your soul and had a haunted look to them. If she was honest she would have to admit that the man had perfect bone structure, and his cheekbones looked like had been sculpted out of stone. He looked to be younger than her, but his disposition made her believe that there was quiet wisdom about him. But just because he was conventionally attractive didn't mean that she trusted him.

"What do you want?" she asked him in an impatient tone.

"A secure line."

"Sorry" she sighed, "But our Unit Chief is checking your credentials as we speak."

"Well he'll be doing that for a while" Quinn replied as he stretched his back. "What's your name?"

"SSA Emily Prentiss."

He let out a small smile, which flashed his hidden dimples, before letting his face return to it's normal intense look. Emily wondered if he had recognized her last name and knew her mother. But what struck Quinn about her name had everything to do with Emily, and nothing to do with her mother. "You do good work" he cryptically said.

Immediately she knew he wasn't talking about this case, but she had to play it as such. It was exhilarating, having such a secretive conversation in front of everyone, knowing that only she and Quinn knew what they were talking about. And for some reason in that moment she completely trusted him, she trusted that he wouldn't let out her secret past. "I held a gun to your head" she grinned.

"And I consider that a success for you" he replied as he moved his elbow onto the table and rested the left side of his jaw on the open palm of his hand.

"Well I didn't shoot you" Emily stated as she crossed her hands on the table and slightly leaned forward.

"Yet" he quickly shot back with another brief half-smile.

"Yet" she repeated.

JJ and Garcia intensely watched the interaction, confused by what was going on. "Are they flirting?" a baffled Garcia asked JJ.

"I think they're basically having sex" JJ replied with a laugh.

"Can you imagine how hot that would be?"

"No" JJ answered as she gave Garcia a warning look.

"Call Langley, ask for Laura and tell her that Quinn needs to make contact with Adal. She'll get everything sorted" Quinn instructed as Emily left the room.

* * *

As soon as Emily left the room she was bombarded by Garcia and JJ's questions. "Okay gumdrop what was that?"

"Yeah what was that?"

"It was hot!"

"Definitely, so spill."

"Yeah you need to tell us what's going on with you and Quinn. And what's going on with Hotch?"

"Are you giving up on Hotch?"

"Maybe she should I mean he's being an idiot."

"Yeah but he's going through a tough time."

"That is true gumdrop, how could you be so selfish?!" Garcia scolded as the line of questioning finally stopped. Emily felt like she was getting a headache from their incessant rambling.

"I have to make a phone call" was all Emily said as she shook her head and walked off.

"God JJ you need to control yourself, all of your questions broke Emily" Garcia remarked to JJ as she walked off, leaving the blonde standing alone in the hallway perplexed.

"My questions? Fucking Penelope" she grumbled as she rubbed her eyes and headed back to the conference room.

**What's going on with Emily and Hotch? **

**How will Peter Quinn factor in? Will he stay on the case? How does he know about Emily's past? Leave any predictions in the comments section, they are more than welcomed. **


	3. Wait for Me

**This chapter fills in more of Quinn's background and has some Hotch/Prentiss flashbacks as well. **

**Right now we're establishing relationships before the real love triangle begins. Or will it turn into a love rectangle, or perhaps even a love pentagon?**

**How will Ian Doyle come into play? Any ****predictions? **

It had taken a few more hours before Peter Quinn's identity was finally sorted out. The team all took turns shaking his hand to apologize for the confusion and Garcia, of course, spent extra time with the CIA agent. And as expected each individual team member asked what he was doing at the unsub's home, but Quinn said he was not at liberty to answer. Hotch, for his part, avoided Quinn, until he caught him alone after he has used the precinct bathroom

"I want to apologize for the confusion, but you really should carry your credentials at all times" Hotch instructed the man that he had already grown to dislike.

Quinn shook his head at the advice, "Thank you for your time."

"Are you going to tell me what is going on with Farhat?"

"I can't."

"You can't or you won't?" Hotch firmly asked as he closed in on the space between them.

"I can't. It is not within my authority to divulge issues of national security indiscriminately." Quinn never normally spoke that way, he was hardly ever so formal. In fact he hated to use his Harvard speak. He was more quiet, soft-spoken and preferred to use layman's terms. He was a man of action, not of words. But this Agent Hotchner was frustrating him, and he was going to be glad to never see him again. Quinn found him to be an unpleasant man.

"My team is going to be searching for a man we know nothing about while you withhold vital information from us. You are putting my team in danger" Hotch shot back as he glared at the younger man.

"Agent Hotchner I hope you realize that you're not on this case anymore" Quinn said softly.

"This man killed three women." Hotch couldn't believe that after all of the hard work and other cases they had turned down they were expected to just quit the case. What right did Quinn have to kick him off the case?

"I understand" Quinn nodded. He understood the frustration but he didn't make these decisions. "I'm sorry" he replied as he exited the precinct as Hotch took out his cellphone to call Strauss. Quinn walked into the parking lot to find Emily waiting for him. "Hey."

"Hey" she greeted back.

"Your boss hates me."

Emily ignored the statement, she didn't want to think about Hotch. "Where's your car?"

"Three blocks from the residence."

"How are you going to get there?"

Quinn couldn't help but laugh, "It's three miles in Maryland, I've been through worse."

"Come on I'll drive you" Emily offered as she waved him towards the SUV.

He followed inside of the car, sitting in the front passenger seat as he looked over to her. "It feels strange."

"What?" She asked distracted as she started the vehicle.

"Being in a car with you...without handcuffs."

"Keep talking and I can remedy that real fast" she shot back with a grin, causing him to let out a small giggle. She couldn't help but find giggling Peter Quinn adorable. "So really what were you doing at the house? No, first how do you know my work?"

Quinn took a deep breath as the duo drove down the sleepy Potomac streets as the sun rose, perfectly illuminating his face. "I fucked up on an operation when I first started and my boss, Dar, Dar Adal, he was pissed. He told me to read up on a case that had just come in, almost everything about it was redacted but it was a CIA agent who went to Interpol and basically single-handedly took down a terror cell after in going deep undercover. He wanted me to study the case, learn from it, emulate it. To have it motivate me to be better. I saw your picture."

"But you knew my last name."

"Now how do yo know that?"

Emily scoffed at what she thought was the stupidest question ever, "I'm a profiler, it's my job."

"Is that what you do? I thought you just arrested and threatened to kill CIA agents" he replied back in a dry tone as the sun continued to rise.

Emily laughed at the conclusion Quinn had come to, "Really how did you know?"

"When I had a higher clearance level I went back to that case and some of the black ink was removed from the file I was given. It told me your last name. I recognized you."

"You remembered me after all of those years?"

"I never forget a face, even if I want to" Quinn said cryptically as he opened the car door. He stepped out of the car and turned around to face Emily, scratching the hair behind his ear before speaking, "Thanks for the ride."

"Don't mention it."

He smiled at her as he leaned forward, bracing his hands on the frame of the car door. "Maybe I'll see you around."

"D.C. is a small town" she offered with a shrug.

"Before I go, tell me something about yourself. Why did you leave the CIA?"

Emily took a deep breath before she answered him, "FBI was cleaner."

Quinn nodded in agreement, "True. But I like things dirty" he said cheekily as she unbuckled herself and moved across the front seat to close the door in Quinn's face, laughing at the look of pure shock as she waved and drove away. He couldn't help but laugh as he went to his car and retrieved his cellphone, learning that he was due for a classified meeting at Langley.

* * *

Emily walked back into the police precinct to find a cranky Hotch waiting for her, "Where were you?"

"I took Quinn back to his car, where were you?"

"On the phone trying to get our case back. Bastard waited for us to do all the work and stole it from right under us. Strauss is going to talk to the director to make some calls" he huffed before containing his rant. "Prentiss" she hated it when he called her that, it was so impersonal, "You should have let me know you were leaving."

"I told Morgan" Emily shrugged. She was getting tired of Hotch's jealously. "Now is this is Hotch or Aaron talking?" She snapped.

"I'm not Morgan am I?" He scolded before catching himself. "I'm, I'm sorry Emily I was just worried and…"

"Jealous" she said as she interrupted him. He nodded and looked down at his shoes. She sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, frustrated by their relationship. "Hotch I like you, you know that but you can't keep doing this to me. You can't keep fucking with my head like this. I keep asking you to make a move and I keep waiting and you just ignore me. You ignore me and make me feel pathetic because I'm basically begging you to give a shit about me and you don't. You don't until someone else comes around and then you act like I'm your possession."

"I don't think your my possession" he replied softly as he put a hand on her shoulder.

She took a deep breath as she noticed the light illuminating Hotch's dark eyes. She bit her lip before speaking up again, "You asked me to wait for you to be ready and I have for months now. But at some point you have to tell me if you want me or not. I can't keep doing this, I can't keep doing this to myself." She informed him sternly as she pinned a strand of hair behind her ear before starting to walk back towards the precinct doors.

"We, the team has a meeting with Strauss at the BAU at 10am" he informed her as she briefly stopped to hear him before she continued to walk on as she thought back to San Francisco.

* * *

_"You and Agent Rawson seemed close" Hotch commented in the BAU parking lot after the case._

_"He did save my life" Emily replied as she leaned against her car door, waiting for the stoic man to continue. _

_"Emily…"_

_Emily lifted her hand to stop him before he could speak, "I'm not going to call him if that's what you're asking. But fuck, Hotch, what are we doing? What is this?"_

_"What do you mean?"_

_"Don't play stupid with me, I'm not in the __mood. I get that right now Jack needs to be your priority, I really do but you have to give me something."_

_Hotch crossed his arms across his chest in his typical manner and let out a breath he didn't know he was holding in. "I care about you, more than I should."_

_"What does that mean? Why do you think you shouldn't care about me? Come on you used to be an attorney, use your words" Emily coaxed as she walked closer to him._

_"I can't right now. I'm not ready for a relationship but I want one with you, someday."_

_"When is someday?"_

_"I don't know for sure, but I want you to be there when I'm ready. Can you?"_

_"Can I what? What are you asking of me?" Emily inquired in the gentle voice that almost always put Hotch at ease. But this time it __didn't. _

_Hotch looked directly at her when he asked, gazing into her deep brown eyes. "Can you wait for me?"_

_Emily couldn't help but smile at the request, causing Hotch to smile in return. "You need to smile more, I miss seeing your dimples."_

_It was a simple phrase but it reminded him of Haley's last words, and the guilt resurfaced again. "Just wait for me."_

_"I will. Tell me when you're ready."_

_"Okay."_

_"Okay" she softly repeated as she gave him a friendly hug and got into her car. She knew he would need time and she was fine with it. She thought that someday she might love him, and she wasn't going to push him. She was going to be there for him in any way she could. But she didn't know that his version of waiting for him meant nine months. Nine months of loneliness. Nine months of working together with no signs of hope. Nine months of waiting for him to decide if he wanted her or not, if she was worth it or not. However, i__n her angst to get home Emily had missed the last words Hotch had said to her that night._

_"I'm sorry." _

_After he said it Hotch wondered if he had meant it for Emily or Haley. _

* * *

At approximately 9am Peter Quinn walked into acting CIA Director Senator Lockhart's large corner office, which was adorned with degrees, awards and family photos. He stood opposite the average sized bald-headed man who was in his late 60's with the fragments of white hair left revealing his age. For intents and purposes Senator Lockhart was an ambitious man, always looking to rise through the ranks of bureaucracy, a trait that Quinn disliked.

"Sir" Quinn greeted formerly, refusing to take a seat in his usual manner.

Senator Lockhart adjusted his glasses before addressing the younger man, "Agent Quinn I understand that you were involved in an altercation with a FBI unit."

"BAU was after Farhat too evidently."

"I see" Senator Lockhart replied as he drank a sip of coffee from his silver thermos. "Well I've been on the phone with the FBI Director and Homeland Security all morning and it seems that this unit, the BAU, has the quite the skill set. It appears that they profile criminals, which lends itself to a certain ability to find whoever they are looking for." Quinn itched his jaw line and he nodded to show he understood. "And I've decided to let them help us."

"What do you mean by help?"

"I mean that they will track down Farhat, with you of course, and then we can resume our original plans."

"So we're giving them Farhat?" Quinn questioned looking for clarification.

"No" Senator Lockhart firmly replied.

"No? Then why would they help us find him?"

"Because of their orders. Anyway no need to worry about operational details now, as you'll be serving as the official CIA liaison on the case."

Quinn made a face of displeasure, "I don't liaise."

"Considerate it a new facet of your skill set."

Quinn looked around the large office, hoping for an escape from this assignment. "What about Carrie?"

"Who?"

"Carrie Mathison, the analyst on this case."

Senator Lockwood chuckled at the suggestion as he leaned back in his leather office chair, "First Carrie Mathison does not have the best people skills."

"You underestimate her."

"Hardly, I gave her the CIA station to run in Istanbul. That's hardly underestimating her, but people are not her skill set. Regardless, the second issue with your suggestion is that Carrie already left on assignment, she's been taken off all other pending operations."

Quinn tilted his head in confusion at the new development. How had he not known that his closest, okay only, work acquaintance had just left the country? "She's uh, she wasn't supposed to leave for another month."

"She informed me six days ago to take her off any cases since she was relocating earlier than she expected. You know pregnant women, always nesting. Whatever the case may be this is your assignment and I have another meeting in ten minutes so you should get going. They're waiting for you at Quantico."

Quinn didn't bother to argue, there was no point. He just nodded and left the office, taking out his phone when he made it to the parking lot. He dialed that familiar number, but Carrie didn't answer. A robotic message did, which informed Quinn that the number was no longer in service. Quinn laughed bitterly as he got into his car, slamming the door shut. "Fuck you Carrie" he mumbled before hitting the steering wheel.

* * *

_It was dark on the quiet suburban Virginia street where they had agreed to meet. Quinn didn't even know what time it was, he felt as if all early morning hours all meshed together to form a block of time. She had frantically called him and asked if he could meet her outside of her house, the emphasis put on 'outside.' _

_"Hey Carrie" he kindly said as she approached him._

_Carrie Mathison was a pregnant thirty-five year old attractive blonde woman. She had an exotic look about her, aided by her mix of masculine and feminine facial features. She was wearing an oversized t-shirt and lounge pants, but Quinn could tell she hadn't slept all night, which worried him considering her condition. "I can't do it."_

_"I told you, you can do it" Quinn assured as he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. In many ways, the conversation was just a repeat of one they had during the afternoon of the day before. Carrie worried that she couldn't be a mother, that she shouldn't be a mother. She wasn't sure what to do about the baby, but Quinn assured her that she could do it, that she should do it. That she should try to be a mother to the child she already loved so dearly, or she would always regret it. _

_"I can't be a mother, I can't do it. And fuck, what do I even say about the father? What do I say about Brody? About who he was, who he was to me. I can't do this Quinn" she ranted as she began to panic, with Quinn trying his best to soothe her. It was hard for him to see her like that. He tried to rationalize that is was because she was often used __by others i__n her work, but deep down he knew that wasn't the reason why. It was because he harbored feelings for her, but she was hopelessly in love with someone else. Someone else who wasn't good for her. However, it wasn't as if he so sure about his feelings for her either. He wasn't sure if he loved her or if he just wanted to take care of her out of compassion. He felt that she needed a friend, she needed someone who gave a shit about her. And romantic or not, he was going to be that person for her.  
_

_"I-I can help you. I don't know how, but Carrie I'll come with you" he offered with a kind smile._

_"To Istanbul?"_

_"You leave in a month right?"_

_"Yeah" she confirmed as she put her hands on her hips and nervously scanned the street._

_"I'll come with you."_

_"Are you sure?"_

_He nodded in response, "I meant what I said about not wanting you to fuck it up, your chance at being a parent."_

_"Yeah, well, thanks" Carrie replied back awkwardly as she walked back to her house, leaving Quinn alone on the sidewalk. _

**Quinn returns to the BAU in the next chapter.**

**Also Garcia/JJ talk to Emily about her brewing love triangle. **

**Can Hotch get it together or are they just not meant to be?**

**What do you think about what Carrie did to Quinn? **

**Thanks for the reviews, they keep me motivated to keep updating. **


	4. Jealousy

**Thanks for all of the reviews, it keeps me motivated to update regularly. **

**Quinn is back. How does Hotch react?**

**If you've never seen Homeland just know that Quinn is not only intense but also pretty snarky/cheeky. **

Emily walked into the BAU a few minutes before ten, only to be dragged into Garcia's lair by JJ.

"What the fuck JJ?" She huffed as she tried to straighten out her clothes.

"Okay gumdrop what happened in that car with Ferris Brooder's day off?" Garcia inquired as she rubbed her hands together in anticipation.

"Ferris Brooder's day off? What are you talking about?" A grumpy Emily inquired with a peeved look on her face. Why couldn't Garcia just talk like a normal person for once in her life.

"She means Quinn. What happened with Peter Quinn?" JJ clarified as she playful backhanded Garcia's stomach.

"Uh, nothing."

"Nothing?" JJ asked with a pointed look that said 'there is no way in hell I believe your lying ass.'

"Yeah nothing, we just talked."

"About?" Garcia inquired as she pushed her glasses further up her nose.

"What he was doing on our case" Emily lied.

"And what he was he doing?"

"He wouldn't tell me" Emily shrugged, seeming disinterested in the topic at hand, even though she really wanted to know what Peter Quinn was doing on her case.

"Emster quit trying to pretend that Quinn is not totally your type."

Emily scoffed at the assumption and waved Garcia off, "Please, Peter is so not my type."

JJ rolled her eyes as Emily's absurd claim as Garcia cut in. "Ohh _Peter_, see Jayje they're on a first name basis already" she teased as JJ nodded enthusiastically.

"Emily come on. He's an intense, hot, tall, CIA agent with a tortured look about him. He is so your type. He is so your type that I wonder if you had Reid genetically engineer him in a lab for you" JJ quipped as Emily frowned.

"I'm not into Quinn. And he's not into me either."

Garcia choked on the bottle of water she was drinking while JJ started to laugh herself, "Oh my god Emster you cannot be so blind. I mean you're a profiler for God's sake. Quinn is definitely into you and we both know that deep down you want a slice of that giblet pie."

"Giblet pie?" JJ and Emily questioned in unison with perplexed looks on their faces.

"Think about it" Garcia ordered.

After a few seconds JJ and Emily looked at each other and grimaced, "Gross Garcia!"

"What? You know it's true. Fine, well then what happened with our fearless leader?"

Emily sighed, "Nothing."

"God Em when are you guys going to get it together? I mean how long has it been since he asked you to wait for him?"

"Nine months" Emily groaned as she sunk into an empty chair and put her head in her hands.

"And all that time have you, you know?" JJ asked as she crouched down next to her friend.

"I'm not answering this question."

"OH MY GOD! That means no!" Garcia gasped as Emily turned beet red.

"Wow, just wow. I don't even know what to say about this, but Hotch is seriously messing up your life" JJ confessed as she rubbed Emily's arm.

"Please don't touch me."

"Uh sorry" JJ apologized as she jerked her hand back up. "Okay, well, are you still going to wait for him or are you going to move on to greener pastures?"

"I vote move on" Garcia bluntly advised with her arms crossed across her chest.

"PEN!"

"What? He's been stringing her along forever and God forbid if she wants to give me god-babies because those eggs are expiring" Garcia explained as she pointed to Emily's blushing form.

"Fuck me" Emily grumbled over the questioning. She only caught what she had said after JJ and Garcia started giggling at her choice of wording. "Can I please go back to work?"

"Em remember you're amazing and any guy would be lucky to have you."

"Or girl if you're into that" Garcia blurted out as Emily gave her a look. "What? I'm being supportive."

"I'm going to try to save whatever dignity I have left and go. See you at the briefing" Emily remarked as she got up the chair and walked to the door.

The two other women watched Emily walk away as Garcia locked her office door, "So buttercup what are we going to do about THAT situation?"

"What do you mean?"

"Should we? Or Shouldn't we?"

JJ scrunched up her face, giving Garcia a confused look, "Should we what? No, you know what? Nevermind, whatever it is we shouldn't."

Garcia put her hands on her hips and pouted, "Hey! You don't even know what my plan is."

"Yeah but it's you so I imagine it's going to be crazy and then turn everything into a giant mess" JJ chuckled.

"How could it be more of a mess than it is right now?"

"Stay out of it Pen. Emily is a big girl, she can take care of herself."

"Yeah but look how well that has turned out blondie" Garcia shot back with a pointed look.

"Good point" JJ conceded as they left the office and headed to the conference room, surprised to see Quinn enter after them.

* * *

Quinn looked uncomfortable, once again opting to lean against the conference room wall in favor of sitting. He didn't greet anyone, but did give a quick side eye to Emily, rubbing his jaw line to hide his small smile. The gesture was immediately noticed by Garcia who nudged Morgan and winked over at Emily, who just gave a dirty look in reply.

"What is Peter Quinn doing here?" Reid whispered to Emily who was sitting next to him at the conference table room.

Emily rolled her eyes at the question, "How should I know?"

"Well I thought because, you know, you two" Reid hinted as Emily glared at him.

"You know what? I liked you better when you were clueless" Emily stated with a smirk that made Morgan laugh. It was blatantly obvious that something was going on between Emily and Quinn. Nevertheless, the team collectively felt they were too young to die and knew that they better stay out of it if they wanted their lives to be spared by the extremely private brunette.

Morgan turned away from Emily and focused on Quinn, "Hey Quinn where'd you go to school?"

"Harvard" was all he was able to get out before Emily started making a gagging sound. "Do you have a comment about that Prentiss?" Quinn questioned in a mock offended tone.

"Yale" JJ said as she pointed over at Emily.

"Quinn it was nice knowing you" Rossi chuckled, prompting the group to start laughing.

"I'll have you know that even though I went to Harvard I know some things about Yale too" Quinn shrugged as Reid turned to him.

"Like what?" Reid always loved trading facts back and forth.

"I know that the school motto in Latin is Lux et verities, which roughly translates to, 'Yale: when Harvard says no'" he dryly quipped as Emily glared at him.

"Fuck you Quinn" Emily jokingly scolded.

"They teach you that language at Yale?"

However, the banter quickly stopped after Hotch entered into the conference room, merely nodding his head at Quinn to acknowledge his presence before addressing his team. Things were still tense between the two men, and they were about to get worse. "As you may have already figured out Peter Quinn will be joining us on this case, which has effective immediately become a FBI-CIA joint task force to capture Hamid Farhat. The BAU will be running point on the investigation, while Agent Quinn represents the interests of the CIA."

"Actually Agent Hotchner I just confirmed with Agent Strauss that I will be handling all matters related to surveillance, infiltration and will be running the investigation from now on" Quinn interrupted, earning him a look of disbelief from Hotch.

"I wasn't informed of this."

"Oh I assumed Strauss had told you. The FBI is handling the profiling aspect while the CIA handles the rest, with your team of course" Quinn nonchalantly answered.

The team watched as Hotch scowled at new development and JJ turned to Garcia and mumbled, "Alpha males."

"Well Agent Quinn would you care to fill us in on what else you know about this case?"

Quinn nodded and took a deep breath before he began, "Hamid Farhat is currently involved with a terror cell based out of Tehran. But what concerns the CIA is that Farhat is the right hand man of two other high-ranking members of the terror group, who are currently on American soil."

"So now we're looking for two men?" Morgan asked, concerned about the danger of the case Hotch had insisted they take.

"No, one of the men is already under the careful surveillance of the CIA, it's his partner that we're looking for. And that is where Farhat comes into the picture. As you already know, Farhat comes from a wealthy petroleum family and as a result his finances often fluctuate. This allows him to effectively serve as the bank for this particular cell's U.S. operations without coming under suspicion. We've been looking for him for a long time, but it's not Farhat we're after."

"You're looking to use Farhat to track your other man" Emily interjected.

"So where does Farhat being a terrorist fit into him becoming a sexual sadist? Was Farhat ever married?" Rossi inquired as he stroked his goatee.

"Yeah, wife disappeared in Tehran a few months ago."

"So he kills his wife and discovers the pleasure it brings him and can't stop" Rossi surmised as the team nodded in agreement, but Quinn looked to be somewhat confused.

"How does that help us find him?"

Reid jumped up in his chair, eager to explain the art of profiling to his new colleague. "Farhat is a sexual sadist, it's his compulsion, how he gets his sexual pleasure. We profiled that he has a need to sexually violate and kill women that fit into his specific victim type. It helps narrow down and predict where he's going to next, he has to fulfill his need. Right now we need to monitor college towns and alter our profile."

"What do we do about the media?" JJ asked Quinn, while Hotch looked on, upset that his team was being lead by a virtual stranger.

"The media will not be briefed, the less the public knows the better. If the public finds out that means we fucked up" Quinn simply stated as he looked back to Hotch, signaling for him to continue.

"As Reid said earlier we need to alter our profile with the new information Quinn has provided. We have a list of associates, which can help us get together a geological profile. Quinn has said he will doing surveillance on the Potomac residence in case Farhat returns to gather some belongings."

"Right now I have a set of agents on it but I'd rather do it myself. I will be doing a 24 hour surveillance and I need a team for during the day and night. I was thinking Agents Morgan, Jareau, and Prentiss."

"Morgan, Jareau and Prentiss?" Hotch questioned with an eyebrow raised. He didn't like this idea one bit.

"Strauss said that Morgan and Prentiss were your team's best field agents. If we find Farhat we need to apprehend him on the spot, we can't let him go. And I need Jareau because Agent Morgan and I sitting in a car together for an entire day in a quiet suburban neighborhood may raise suspicion. Agent Jareau can help calm the nerves of the neighbors, plus her media experience makes her the perfect person to deal with them."

JJ nodded at the conclusion as the team looked to Hotch for further instruction, but Hotch didn't appreciate this swipe at his field abilities. "I would argue that the entire team is proficient in the field. I know that I've personally taught hand to hand combat courses at the academy."

"Well some of us do, others of us teach" Quinn replied with a shrug.

"How do you feel about this _tit _for tat" Garcia whispered to a mortified Emily, elbowing her in the side.

Hotch glared at Quinn, "Who do you think you are?"

Quinn crossed his arms as he stared down Hotch, "I'm the guy who gets things done when other agents fuck up. So let me ask you Agent Hotchner, who are you?"

"I make sure people are held accountable for their actions" Hotch almost growled in the awkward conference room. The team would have gladly traded ten thousand meetings with Erin Strauss to get out of being trapped in a room with Hotch and Quinn. It was painfully obvious that Hotch despised Quinn, and Quinn was in no way intimated by the other man, which just added to the discomfort. Finally Rossi cut into the tension by coughing, getting Hotch's attention. "Fine. Reid, Rossi and I will work on a revised profile. Prentiss go home to rest for your night shift with Quinn" Hotch ordered as he grimaced at the last few words he uttered. He was sending Emily alone with Peter Quinn, at night. "The rest of you are dismissed" Hotch concluded as he shared a look with Emily, which she knew meant he wanted her to meet him in his office. Emily discretely nodded as the team dispersed.

* * *

"Do you trust him?" Hotch asked as he leaned against his desk, facing Emily who was standing close to the door.

"Quinn?"

"Yeah."

"I think I do. You don't?" Emily asked as she bit her bottom lip, contemplating whether this conversation was personal or professional.

Hotch furrowed his brow and inhaled sharply, "I don't know if I believe him."

"Why not?"

"Strauss told me that as soon as the CIA talks to Farhat we get to arrest him for murdering those young women, but I'm not sure if I trust Quinn to turn Farhat over."

"Once they get their guy what use will they have with Farhat?"

"I don't know. Be careful" Hotch warned as he moved closer to her.

"I will."

"You know I care about you" he said as he moved even closer, furthering closing in on the space between them.

"I know."

"Come to dinner with me, Sunday" Hotch whispered in her ear.

"Sunday?"

"Sunday" he confirmed as he pinned a strand of hair behind her ear and pulled away.

"Are you sure?" Emily softly asked as she gently placed her left hand on his chest.

"Yes" Hotch confirmed. But he wasn't sure. He wanted to be sure, that's all he wanted in the world. But he couldn't stop thinking about Haley, about his wife, ex-wife. If he was honest with himself he knew that he never really thought of Haley as an ex-wife. Even though he was attracted to Emily before Haley's death he never acted on it. He never dated after the divorce, it still somehow felt like infidelity to him. Part of it was what Haley's sister Jessica had said to him after the funeral. It wasn't that Hotch and Haley divorced because they stopped loving each other, it was that she was fed up with his job. That always made things feel so unresolved. Even worse, Hotch still felt that he was responsible for her death, and he was still haunted by the their final phone call. The phone call where she asked him to smile more for the sake of their son. She had died protecting their child, this little person who was part of both of them and what had he done? He had failed her. Would he fail Emily too? But he knew he couldn't lose Emily. He also knew that if he didn't act then she might leave him for Quinn. He couldn't lose both Emily and Haley. "Sunday at 6, I'll pick you up."

"Isn't 6 early?"

"Jack."

"Oh, yeah, okay" Emily replied, understanding what he was saying. He couldn't be out late because he had to care for his son. "How is Jack?"

"He's great. He's doing well in school. He made the honor roll" Hotch answered as his face beamed with pride.

"That's great, tell him I'm proud of him."

"I will. And be careful" Hotch warned as he opened the door and led her out, placing his hand at the small of her back before quickly removing it.

However the interaction was noticed by none other than Peter Quinn, who was sitting at Emily's desk waiting for Morgan and JJ to come back with their cups of coffee. He had been wondering why the BAU team seemed so obsessed with coffee before he saw it. It lasted only half a second and Quinn didn't understand why it bothered him. He liked Carrie didn't he? Quinn shook the thoughts from his head as Emily approached him. "You're at my desk, on my chair."

"You're supposed to be going home anyway."

"I don't do a lot of things I'm supposed to do" Emily replied with a smirk.

Quinn couldn't help but smile at the remark, "Get out of here Prentiss. I can't have the likes of you fucking up my investigation."

"Shut up Peter" Emily scolded playfully before gathering up her things to leave. "And don't leave an ass print in my office chair."

"Or what? You'll put a gun to my head, again."

"Yeah but this time I'll pull the trigger" she warned as she started to walk away.

"And how will you know that it's my ass print? You going to hire a forensics team?" He challenged as leaned back in the chair.

"I have my ways" she said with a twinkle in her eye as she walked out of the door. Quinn just shook his head and laughed before JJ and Morgan approached him.

"Ready to go spy?" Morgan asked.

"Yeah" Quinn answered as he got up from the chair.

"What did princess say to you anyway?"

"Princess?" Quinn questioned as he looked over to JJ for an explanation.

"He calls Emily that."

"She told me that if I left an ass print in her chair she'd shoot me."

Morgan and JJ burst into laughter as the group left the BAU and headed towards the parking lot.

**Are you feeling more sympathetic for Hotch now or are you on team Quinn?**

**How do you think the Hotch/Prentiss date will go?**

**And don't worry, Ian Doyle is still coming.**


	5. You're Losing Her

The day of surveillance had been boring, extremely boring. Quinn's car was parked near the middle of the cul-de-sac where Farhat lived, and there was a surprising amount of foot traffic for midday. JJ and Morgan had made small talk with Quinn for most of the morning, mainly about growing up in Philadelphia and being recruited into the CIA after college. But by the afternoon they had run out of topics to talk about, mostly because Quinn was fairly withholding about his past. It came with the job. Quinn had waited for Morgan to leave the car, to stretch his legs, before addressing JJ. "What's going on with Prentiss and Hotchner?"

"What do you mean?"

"They seem, close" Quinn hinted as he still kept his eyes focused on the ordinary two story colonial in front of him.

JJ smiled at the question, "Why do you care?"

"I don't."

"Sure" JJ said sarcastically as she waited for Quinn to reply. He didn't. "His wife died a year ago, she was killed by someone we were supposed to catch."

"Did you? Catch him I mean."

"Yeah we did, but it was too late" JJ confessed with a sigh. She wondered if she should be telling Quinn any of this, but to be fair it was common knowledge around the Bureau.

"And Emily?"

JJ caught that Quinn called her Emily this time, not Prentiss. "We've all tried to support him, including Emily." Quinn nodded in response, opting to not push on for more information. "Are you seeing anyone?"

"No."

"Was there ever anyone special?"

"Maybe" he sighed. "I don't know, it was complicated."

JJ chuckled, "isn't it always?" She waited a while before speaking up again, "So why do you care about who Emily is seeing?"

"I don't" Quinn answered a little too quickly to sound believable.

"Uh-huh" JJ giggled. Having a meaningful conversation with Quinn was like pulling teeth. _Emily sure does have a type _JJ mused as Morgan entered the car. Much to the frustration of Quinn the rest of the day was uneventful, with no signs of Farhat. But it wasn't completely uneventful because when Emily arrived both JJ and Morgan noticed Quinn's face light up.

* * *

"We need to get him this time" Hotch sternly said to Rossi, while observing Reid flip through the pages of redacted files that Quinn had sent over. All the information in them had been blacked out except for addresses. Hotch was bothered by the amount of information Quinn was withholding, but if he was honest he understood why. The CIA was known to be a secretive agency.

"I trust we can. But that's not all that is bothering you, is it?" Rossi replied as he dumped a few more of his case files on Reid's desk and turned his full attention to Hotch.

"No" Hotch admitted with a sigh.

"You're losing her."

"I know."

"And does it bother you?"

"Of course it bothers me Dave. I like her."

"You like her" Rossi said knowingly. "But you don't love her?"

"I don't know. It's a little soon for that isn't it?"

"Maybe, maybe not. It's not like you just met her. This is the woman whose been there for you for years, who resigned from her job so you wouldn't lose yours. I think it would be perfectly natural to love her, but I'm guessing that you don't, not yet anyway." Rossi took the non-reply as a sign of agreement from the younger man. "But you do 'like' Emily and you know you that don't want to lose her. But what do you mean by lose her?"

"I want her in my life."

"In what capacity?" Rossi asked as he leaned against Emily's desk.

"I don't know Dave" Hotch answered, frustrated by the line of questioning.

"I think you do. Listen Aaron you need to be honest with yourself. Emily is not looking for a fling from you. She's not looking to just have some fun with her boss."

"And what do you mean by that?"

"I mean that you need to make sure that you want something real with her before anything happens" Rossi firmly said as he walked away from the man to get a cup of coffee. He felt that Hotch needed to start dating, to move on with his life. But he wasn't sure if the other man was ready to commit to someone so soon. On the other hand he felt that, if presented the opportunity, Emily was ready for commitment. Rossi just wondered if Hotch was the man for the job. Rossi was shaken from his thoughts by Hotch, who stood next to him fixing his own cup of coffee.

"She isn't a fling."

"Then prove it" Rossi ordered as he patted Hotch on the back and walked away.

* * *

"Find anything?" Emily asked as she slipped into the back seat of the car with Morgan.

"Not a fucking thing" Quinn complained.

"Did you bring my car?" JJ asked as the sun began to set.

"Yeah it's parked down the street. I can't drive two cars at once though so you'll have to dump off Morgan back at the BAU."

"Dump off Morgan? How very kind of you Princess" Morgan sarcastically replied as he elbowed her in the side.

"Whatever you big baby. Hey Quinn do you mind if I walk with them back to their car? I have to talk with JJ about something."

"Yeah sure" Quinn offered as he turned on the radio while the others left the car.

"Walk ahead of us Morgan" Emily ordered with a smirk.

"Oh I see how it is. You're gonna do some gossiping and leave me out? That's cold princess." Emily glared at Morgan, prompting him lifted his hands in surrender, "It's fine. I'll just have baby girl tell me whatever it is later."

"GO AWAY!" Emily yelled as Morgan began to jog ahead. She turned to JJ, who was snickering over their interaction, "Something weird happened to me today."

"What?"

"Hotch asked me out, on a date. Like a date date. Sunday night at 6pm."

"6pm on a Sunday? What is he a pastor?" JJ snorted.

"He said something about Jack. Anyway is that weird?"

JJ shrugged, "Isn't that what you want?"

"Yeah, it just felt so anticlimactic" Emily confessed as she started to pick at her nails as the two women walked down the concrete sidewalk.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know. I thought after making me wait all these months he'd seem more excited about it. The way he asked me out was almost perfunctory."

"Do you think that it's over?" Emily scanned the quiet Maryland street before answering. It was a nice neighborhood, white picket fences and all. It bothered her why they were there, that there could be evil in the midst of so much good. Her thoughts were interrupted by JJ, "Em?"

"Sorry, umm no, I think I still have feelings for him. It's just complicated, but it's a good start right?"

"Yeah" JJ agreed, but she couldn't help but think of Quinn. Part of her still thought Hotch and Emily should be together, but another part of her thought that both of them needed to have a fresh start. She worried that at some point Emily was going to come to her for advice again and that she wouldn't have an answer for her. "Does your reluctance have anything to do with Peter Quinn?" JJ prodded.

"No, I just don't feel like myself when I'm with Hotch. Emily Prentiss doesn't hung up on guys, I don't do that. When I'm around him it's different. I'm not so unaffected. For some reason I cannot compartmentalize Aaron Hotchner, but I'm also more serious when I'm with him. Shouldn't I be more carefree? Does that make any sense? I don't know everything is such a fucking mess. Why can't things just be easier with us? I mean he still calls me Prentiss for fuck's sake" she ranted as they turned the corner, JJ's car and Morgan within earshot.

"We'll talk later" JJ assured Emily as she pulled into her into a hug. "You'll get it worked out."

Emily nodded as she walked off back towards the car, back towards Quinn.

* * *

"Did you bring any food for me?" Emily inquired as she got into the front seat of Quinn's car.

"There might be some gum on the floor somewhere" Quinn offered with a shrug.

"You sure are sassy Agent Quinn. They teach you that snark at the CIA?" Emily questioned with a grin. She liked Quinn's sense of humor, it was always dry and sarcastic, much like her own.

"You would know Emily. Fuck, I don't think he's coming" Quinn groaned as he rubbed his eyes.

"So why are we out here?"

"Because what if he does show and we're not here?"

"Okay so what do you want to do? Because I am not going to listen to sports on the radio all night."

"I don't know, want to play twister?" He asked with a small smile.

Emily rolled her eyes at the suggestion, "Quit being ridiculous, I'm serious."

"Okay then, explain to me what profiling is. Like what purpose does it serve?"

"Profiling is noticing behavior. Like see the over there" Emily pointed over to the a middle-aged couple walking out to their car. "They are probably going to get a divorce.

"Now why do you say that?"

"Look at their body language, how disconnected they are. They aren't touching, they don't seem excited to see each other. They don't love each other, but there are children's toys in the yard, so they're trying. They're trying to make it work for the sake of their kids, but there is infidelity."

"How do you know that?"

"Last week when we drove in this neighborhood there was a landscaping truck at their house, but no one was working in the yard. And look at that yard, overgrown hedges and grass, no one her been landscaping that yard for weeks. So what is the guy doing for half a day over at their house?"

"Okay you're good" Quinn admitted with a look of horror on his face. "You can't do that to me."

"I won't" Emily laughed. "Okay so what do you do?"

"You know what I do."

"No, I know you're in the CIA. The CIA is a big agency."

Quinn rubbed his nose and took a deep breath before answering, "I kill bad guys."

"Black ops?" Quinn nodded in response. "Special Activities and Special Operations. Anything I would have heard of?"

"If you had heard then I wouldn't be very good at my job" Quinn simply replied as he kept watching Farhat's house vigilantly.

"How do you feel about that?"

"Can I borrow some money?"

"What?" Emily asked thoroughly confused by Quinn's request. "Why?"

"Well all these personal questions led me to believe that you were billionaire interviewer Oprah Winfrey. Aren't you?" Quinn asked in a serious voice that contradicted with the small smile on his face.

Emily couldn't help but laugh, "Wow. How long have you been waiting to set that one up?"

"Like ten minutes."

"You are so pathetic!" she teased. "That is just sad Peter. I am thoroughly embarrassed for you." Emily waited for their laughing to subside before she spoke again, "But really, how do you feel about what you do?"

Quinn took a few moments before he quietly answered her in a soft voice, "Sometimes I just do not believe in what I do. Sometimes I wonder, am I a good guy or am I just pretending to be?" All Emily could do was nod in agreement with the profound question. She knew better than anyone what he was talking about. Does the greater good justify what you've done? "So now I get to ask you a question."

"Okay."

Quinn tapped on the steering wheel before speaking up, "Are you fucking your boss?"

"What do you mean?" Emily asked, trying to feign innocence.

"Emily when a man and woman love each other very much…" He teased as she whacked him on the arm. "Seriously though, are you sleeping with Hotchner?"

"No" Emily sternly told him.

"And why not?"

"What do you mean not? Why would it be given that I'd be sleeping with him?"

Quinn sighed and shook his head, "You know I can be a good listener."

"Says who?"

"Come on Emily, why aren't you together? Because from what I saw you wanted to be" he challenged as Emily began to chew on the inside of her cheek.

"It's complicated."

For the first time of the day Quinn took his eyes off the house and gazed over to Emily, "You can talk to me about it, if you want. I know what it's like." He offered as he watched her turn her head to the side to stare out the window. "I know what it's like to want someone who is always going to love someone else more than you."

Emily laughed bitterly at the assumption, "Can you, just for once, try to not act like you know everything? You don't know me and you don't know Hotch. You don't know what he's been through, not to mention you were such a dick to him today. And you don't know anything about us being together. It's like you think that just because you read my fucking file that you know who I am. You don't know anything about me or my life!" she ranted loudly in the confines of the small car.

Quinn swallowed uncomfortably and softly spoke, "I'm sorry."

"You fucking should be" Emily huffed as she crossed her arms and stared out the window.

**How will the rest of the stake out go? **

**What might else Peter Quinn reveal? **


	6. Hotchiss vs Petily Quintiss

**Any ideas on how this may turn into a love quad?**

**How will the case come into play? Predictions and Reviews are always welcomed and appreciated.**

Needless to say it was the most uncomfortable stake out ever. All Emily wanted to do was leave, but she was stuck in a car with Quinn. Fucking Peter Quinn who thought he knew about her personal life. But as the hours passed Emily felt bad for how she had snapped at him, mostly because she knew what he said was true. She had wondered for months if Hotch would ever love her as much as he loved Haley, and it hurt to hear it confirmed from someone else, a complete stranger no-less. His words rang through her head, _I know what it's like._ She had wondered who had done that to Quinn?

The sun was starting to rise when she finally spoke again, the previous eight hours having been spent in silence. "Who was she?" She gently asked.

Quinn clenched his jaw before he spoke, "Carrie. Her name was Carrie."

"What happened?"

"She, she made a mistake." He took a deep breath before continuing. She could tell he was uneasy about the subject, "She was working on gathering intelligence on a terror cell and she met this guy. He was married and a terrorist sympathizer. Fuck that, he was a terrorist. She was supposed to be investigating him but it got...physical, it was a mess."

"Wow" was all Emily could say. She had forgotten the intricacies of the CIA.

Quinn looked down his shoes before he speaking again, "She fucked him once while wearing a wire."

"What?!"

"Yeah, it was official intel so we, uh, had to listen."

"Wow" was all a floored Emily could get out. She was getting progressively more shocked. Yes she had been with Doyle for her job but she never had sex with him while her team listened in.

"I guess her methods were always a bit…unique" Quinn admitted, more than a little embarrassed by what he had just confessed.

"You could say that."

"She fucked it up so badly. It was at DEFCON fucked when I came in. He eventually left her but before he did she got pregnant."

"Oh."

"Yeah it was a clusterfuck. And then in a moment of redemption he died, but she still loves him. All the shit he pulled and she still loves him. She's a good person, but she's a mess you know? I mean we all have problems but Carrie…" He trailed off, wary of how much he should reveal. "She's so strong but she struggles."

"She's unstable, mentally" Emily guessed as Quinn confirmed the speculation with a nod.

"She's bipolar and if anyone ever found out…"

"She'd lose her job. She's CIA right?" Emily interjected.

"Yeah."

"How the hell did she pass the psych evaluation?"

"How do any of us?" Quinn shrugged. "She was made station chief overseas and she didn't know what to do about the baby. I just felt like it'd be a shame for her to give it up. I fucked it up and it tortures me. So I offered to go with her and help her. But she left without telling me."

"I'm sorry" Emily offered as she patted his knee in a comforting manner.

Quinn ran his hand though his messy hair, obviously exhausted from the day. "I didn't mean to insult you by what I said."

"I know" Emily said softly as she leaned her head against the car window.

"It just, it doesn't hurt to have a friend who's been there."

Emily turned her head back to face the man, "You want to be my friend?"

"I'm very likable."

She scoffed in jest at the statement, "Says who?"

"Terrorists" he smiled as she started to laugh.

* * *

The first 24 hours had passed and the team concluded that Farhat would not be returning to his home according to the profile. The team would need to start sifting through Farhat's personal contacts to find him and it was decided that Quinn and Emily would get a couple hours of rest and meet the team at the BAU later. After Quinn drove Emily to her apartment she requested something of him. It was a pattern they had quickly developed. Before they left each other one agent would ask the other a question. This time it was Emily's turn as she closed the car door and poked her head through the rolled down window. "Tell me something about yourself."

"Like what?"

"What was your worst injury on the job?" She asked with a smirk as she thought back to all of her own.

"I was shot in the stomach. I never admitted it to anyone, but I was scared" he quietly replied before he drove away. Emily went inside to her apartment and sat on her sofa, dissecting each part of the interactions she had with Quinn over the previous few hours. But there was one sentence he said that stood out to her. He was talking about Carrie's baby when he said it, _I fucked it up and it tortures me. _The simple ambiguous statement repeated over and over again as she thought to what it meant, what he meant. And that is when Emily realized that there was a lot more to Peter Quinn then she expected.

* * *

Morgan walked into the BAU a few minutes before he was due for work and decided to pay Garcia a quick visit. However, just before he opened the door he heard arguing. It sounded like JJ and Garcia were in the middle of a heated discussion, but that didn't make sense. Those two, and Emily, were attached at the hip. They didn't fight. Determined to resolve the issue he walked into the room, surprised by what he saw.

"No Pen put 'Hot Power Couple' on the Hotchiss side!" JJ ordered as the women turned around, red-faced, to see a perplexed Morgan standing in the office doorway.

"What are you two doing?" He asked, side eyeing them. In the middle of Garcia's office was an easel with a large pad on it. On the white pad was a line in red pen splitting it down the middle with one half titled 'Hotchiss' and the other half titled 'Petily Quintiss.'

"Nothing" JJ claimed as she tried to shield the writing on the notepad with her body.

Morgan turned to face Garcia to demand an explanation, "Baby girl what does 'Hotchiss vs. Petily Quintiss' mean?"

"Penelope Garcia if you tell him I swear to god..." JJ threatened, knowing that her quirky friend could never lie to her 'chocolate Adonis.'

"Baby girl?"

"It's our pro con list for Emily's bizarre love triangle between her brown-haired broody men" Garcia rambled out all at once.

"Garcia!"

"Okay back up" Morgan began as he tried to get everything straightened out. "So Hotchiss is Prentiss and Hotch as a couple."

"BAU celebrity couple" Garcia interjected.

Morgan laughed at the correction, "BAU celebrity couple. And Petily Quintiss is Prentiss and Quinn as…"

"The international couple of mystery" Garcia filled in as Morgan started to chuckle.

JJ pointed over at Garcia before she spoke, "This was all her idea!"

"Whatever JJ, half of what is written up there is in your handwriting. Anyway you need to fill me in on what you're doing or I'll tell Prentiss."

"You wouldn't dare" JJ called his bluff as she poked Morgan in the chest.

"Oh yes I would, so start talking ladies. I got all day" he ordered as he sat down and leaned back in Garcia's office chair with his arms crossed. "Start from the beginning."

"October 2007" Garcia began as JJ groaned. "Hotch and Haley are officially splitskies and guess who our fearless leader brings back to our team after she falls on her sword to save his job? Obviously because he can't live without her and because wants her to fall on his sword if you know what I mean" Garcia hinted with a wink.

"Gross Pen" JJ scolded as she shook the mental images from her head. _Great now I feel like a pervert. _

Garcia ignored the blonde's comment as she continued on, "A year later who is caring for Hotch and his flop ears during the Angel maker case? Why none other than our own princess raven locks. And even JJ said that Hotch seemed to have tears in his eyes when my poor baby was being beaten by that cow Benjamin Cyrus. And who noticed the absence of Hotch after he was attacked by the reaper? Yes our dearest princess Prentiss."

"Yeah and I already knew something was going on with them by then baby girl."

"You've known for over a year?" JJ inquired.

Morgan shrugged, "It was obvious, but after Haley died it was…"

"Strained" JJ filled in as Morgan nodded.

"So now she likes Quinn?"

"I think she's conflicted. She's been waiting for Hotch for so long and then Quinn comes along and she's confused."

"That's why buttercup and I are doing this pro and con list. We want to be able to give Emster advice if she asks us for it, which she will, and we don't even know what to tell her right now."

JJ took a deep breath before speaking up, "I think that, yes, it was unfair for Hotch to make her wait for so long, but he had been through a lot and he needed to focus on his son. I think he just needed to get his head together before he could commit to her. But I also feel like maybe Quinn could be good for Emily. Plus, you've seen their chemistry."

"Yeah."

"And I think that on some level Hotch will be always hung up on Haley and gumdrop is so great, she should be someone's great love. I think more than anything Hotch needs a rebound and that is so not what Emily is" Garcia added.

"So even you two are torn." Morgan stated as he glanced at the board and then back to the two women.

"Yeah and Emily has been kind of hinting around for advice and we have no idea what to tell her because we're just as confused about this situation. What do you think Morgan? JJ asked, hoping that Morgan could be helpful and give a man's perspective.

"I think that this is something Prentiss has to figure out for herself, but I think Hotch and Prentiss would mess up the group dynamic and that Strauss would disband the team. Maybe two equals dating would be ignored but a boss and his subordinate, I doubt Strauss would overlook that. FBI frat rules would definitely be enforced and then we'd probably lose Prentiss from our team" Morgan remarked as the two women nodded in agreement.

"Well I don't think we're going to be enlightened over the next few minutes so we should get to work. Morgan do not tell Emily about this. You know how private she is."

"I won't" Morgan assured JJ.

"And Pen, be sure to get rid of that paper before Emily finds it. I'd like to see my son graduate from college before I die" JJ quipped as she and Morgan walked out of the technical analyst's office.

* * *

"Hey" Emily greeted as she ran into Quinn in the BAU parking lot. He was getting his cloth messenger bag out of his car and eating a granola bar. "How long have you been waiting around for me?" She asked with a grin.

"I wasn't. But since you're here, do you eat dinner?"

"Putting that Harvard education to work there Quinn. Yes I eat dinner."

"Indian food?" He asked as they walked towards the FBI doors together.

"On occasion."

"I'm a great person to eat Indian food with" He smiled as she began to laugh.

"Oh really?"

"Yeah really. I'm pretty much an expert at it. After this case we should eat Indian food together."

Emily couldn't help but think that Peter Quinn asking her out was adorable. It was different from how Hotch did it. Peter seemed more nerved by it, more excited and it was a rare sight to see Peter excited about anything. "Who pays?"

"Me" Quinn answered as he opened the door for Emily, who didn't walk through it.

"Fuck, I forgot my coffee thermos. Go ahead and go up without me" she ordered as she started to walk briskly back to the parking lot.

"Tuesday at 8?" He yelled to her, unable to see the smile appearing on her face as she walked away.

"Sure" she yelled back as Quinn entered into the building.

* * *

A few minutes after 3pm Quinn walked into the BAU and was met by Hotch, who was waiting for him outside of the BAU glass doors. "Did your surveillance lead to anything?" Hotch asked Quinn, already knowing the answer but wanting confirmation anyway.

"No" Quinn admitted as he leaned against the wall and crossed his arms.

"Well even the best of us go down the wrong road with investigations" Hotch said condescendingly. Hotch didn't appreciate the way the other man took over his investigation, he didn't like how Quinn disrespected his field skills, and most of all he didn't like how he shamelessly flirted with Emily.

"And how did your profiling go?" Quinn questioned back.

"Well…"

"We found nothing" Reid interrupted as he walked up to the men, earning a glare from Hotch and a chuckle from Quinn.

"We're working out some leads" Hotch claimed as he tried to save some of his dignity. "Why aren't you working Reid?"

"I was checking something with Garcia about a possible geological lead, but I had no luck. I really need Emily. Do you know if she's here yet?"

"Parking lot" Quinn answered as Reid left the two team leaders and Quinn continued on, "I'm going to try to call a contract to see if we can get some more intel on locations where Farhat would run off to. We're probably looking at a warehouse. It's going to take some time."

"Time we don't have, he kills every five days like clockwork. Our time before a body shows up is limited" Hotch reminded. "You seem to forget that this man is also a serial killer and until we find him other women who fit his victim type will be at risk."

Quinn sighed and shook his head. He was well aware of the situation at hand, but his hands were tied. He had no information and good intel took time. "I know but it takes time to get reliable information. We can't just take everything an informant may say at their word because it puts agents at risk. We have to double check things, especially when it comes to dealing with Farhat."

Hotch nodded in reply. He knew what the other man was saying, "I'm going to have Garcia keep going through his financials. Maybe she'll get a hit for us" he offered as he started to walk away. However, before he reached his office Garcia briskly walked up to him.

"You know how I said I was going to flag any body discoveries that matched our victim type?"

"Yes."

"We have a new body that matches" Garcia ominously said as Hotch ran his hands through his hair in frustration.

"Conference room in 10 minutes. I want everyone there and I want everything you have" he ordered as he walked into the conference room to wait.

**If you've never seen Homeland just know that everything that Peter says to Emily about Carrie actually happened in the show. **

**Just a heads up, because Lexie4MP has been so great about reading/reviewing all the different stories I've done so far I'm going to be working on a comedic Demily one-shot per her request. **

**Thank you to everyone for reading/reviewing and please continue leaving your suggestions/predictions in the comments section.**

**I'll probably be posting another chapter later today. **


	7. I'm Really Ready for Us

Hotch was completely exasperated by this case. He had promised the families of the victims that he would stop the unsub, that he would find him, and he did. He did find Farhat, but he couldn't catch him, not in time anyway. The team, minus Quinn, filtered into the small room over the next few minutes. As much as Hotch hated to admit it, he needed Quinn present. He needed to cross check Quinn's intel against where the new body was found. "Where's Quinn?" Hotch asked JJ, who had just entered into the room.

"He's on the phone in my office, I told him about the briefing though. He's going to come as soon as he can" she offered.

Hotch, Rossi, Garcia, and JJ waited in relative silence as the last of the team entered into the conference room, with Quinn slipping in last. Hotch nodded to Garcia who began to brief the team after displaying a picture of a vibrant young blonde woman on the screen.

"Katherine Harrison was 21, she was a senior at Providence College in Rhode Island. Her body was found by several homeless men early this morning in an abandoned parking lot. Preliminary medical examiner reports confirm that she had been sexually assaulted by a foreign object before her death."

"She matched the profile perfectly" Reid commented as the team looked through the crime scene photos that Garcia had requested a few minutes earlier.

"Quinn?" Hotch asked as he looked at the man who was standing in the corner.

Quinn took a deep breath before speaking, "I think I may have an address for Providence but we need to wait on it to be confirmed. Can we afford 24 hours?"

"He's escalating. Farhat used to kill every five days, now he's down to three. I don't know how much time we have left before a new body" Rossi stated as Quinn sighed.

"I'll see what I can do. Give me ten hours" he offered as Hotch nodded.

"We need to get down to Providence. Quinn I assume you have a go-bag?" Hotch spoke again before giving Quinn a chance to answer, "A bag of clothes?"

"In my car. I just don't call it a go-bag" he shrugged as the team tuned in for another episode of 'Painfully Uncomfortable Hotch and Quinn Interactions.'

"And what does the CIA call it?" Hotch asked in a snarky tone.

"A bag" Quinn deadpanned as Emily tried to suppress a laugh. To her they were both so ridiculous it was embarrassing.

"Wheels up in 30" Hotch firmly stated as he tried to recover his dignity yet again. "Prentiss can I speak with you?"

"Sure" Emily agreed as she followed Hotch to his office, neither one of them choosing to sit down.

* * *

"I want to apologize to you."

"For what?" Emily asked as she raised an eyebrow at him.

"Everything, us."

Emily pinched the bridge of her nose and sighed, "Now?"

"Yes now because every time I see you it bothers me. It bothers me how I treated you. You deserved better…"

"You were going through a lot."

"I don't have any excuses for waiting for as long as I did. I think I've had feelings for you for a while now. It's just always been complicated."

"I know and maybe that's the point" Emily stated as she gazed into the eyes of the man in front of her. "Do you think we missed our window?"

"No" Hotch remarked sternly. "I wasted time but we didn't miss anything. Emily I want you to know that I'm here now and that's all that matters. I'm here and I want to try."

"Uh, okay" Emily said awkwardly at the confession.

Hotch furrowed his brows as he stared at the brunette woman in front of him, "Uh okay?"

"I thought you already meant that when you asked me out on a date. So what is it that you're saying now Hotch?"

"I'm saying that I'm really ready for us."

"I thought you were already saying that though, yesterday." Emily commented with a pointed look. Why had Hotch asked her out if he wasn't ready to try then?

"I just wanted to make my intentions clear with you" he said as he moved to within four inches of her body. Emily took a deep breath and shook her head. "We probably won't be home for Sunday so tonight, if we have time, let's have dinner together."

Emily moved away ever so slightly before replying, "We're working."

"Just coffee" Hotch reminded with a smile. A smile that faded when he noticed the rigid body language of the woman in front of him. "What?"

"It's just a lot to process" she defended as he chuckled in disbelief.

"You have been begging me to make a move and…" Hotch began before Emily interrupted him.

"Begging you?! Begging you?! I have never begged for you, there is a difference between begging and waiting for someone to get their head of out of their ass."

"Head out of my ass? Is that what me getting over my ex-wife's murder was to you? My head in your ass?"

"Fuck Hotch, stop making this about Haley. Whatever this is" Emily curtly spoke as she motioned to the two of them, "was there way before Foyet was even on your radar. You just ignored it and me. You ignored me for Kate in New York…"

"She's dead Emily."

"There's always going to be a reason for us not to work with you Hotch."

"And what about you with Quinn?" He challenged with a scowl.

"What about Peter Quinn? This has nothing to do with Quinn, we have been having issues for months, no years, before Quinn even got here. I wait for you for nine months and you can't give me a few days of time to sort things out?"

"That's the point!" Hotch said louder than he should have in his less than soundproof office. He quickly lowered his voice before continuing, "You say you were waiting for nine months and now when I'm ready your suddenly not."

"Maybe it's not so sudden" Emily said softly as she looked away from Hotch. "Plus, what am I supposed to do? Jump whenever you're ready? I feel like your only doing this now because of Quinn. That he's the reason for your sudden sense of urgency. The same way you were with Mick Rawson and any other man who might be interested in me."

"You know I feel strongly about you."

"Then stop pressing this issue at work" Emily huffed. Hotch was really getting on her nerves and she didn't understand why. Yes, things had escalated quickly, but why wasn't she excited that he said he wanted to try with her? She wanted exactly that just a few days ago and now, now it was different. Was it because of Peter Quinn or was it because of their complex history. She still wanted Hotch didn't she? "This isn't about Quinn or Haley or Kate or Mick Rawson, I just want us to figure out if this is what we really want because when we go down that path it's never going to be the same. For us of the team either. If we work out it will change the team and if we don't it will too so we need to make sure before we do anything rash. Okay?"

"Okay. Just coffee" he said with a small smile. But they were both conflicted, and in a way they were both motivated by the presence of Peter Quinn.

"Half an hour" Emily agreed as she scanned Hotch's office, hoping for an escape.

"We should get going before the team notices."

"I pretty sure they've already noticed, like a months ago" Emily laughed as Hotch chuckled.

* * *

After leaving Hotch's office, Emily ran into JJ's office and locked the door. "You need to make sure to sit next to me on the plane" she ordered as she slumped down in the chair across from JJ's desk.

"Why?"

"Because of those two idiots out there" Emily stated as she nodded her head in the direction of the bullpen.

"You mean Thelma and Louise?" JJ questioned as she started to giggle.

Emily rolled her eyes at the nickname, "JJ, Thelma and Louise were best friends who died together. Quinn and Hotch are the opposite of Thelma and Louise unless there was a sequel I didn't know about where Thelma strangled Louise in the middle of a BAU briefing."

JJ tried to compose herself after her newest fit of laughter. Sure she knew that the situation with Quinn and Hotch had been difficult for Emily, but to her it was just plain hilarious. "Wait which one is Thelma and which one is Louise?"

"Peter is obviously Louise" Emily said in a matter of fact tone.

"Is she Susan Sarandon or Sigourney Weaver?"

"Oh my god JJ, Sigourney Weaver isn't even in the movie. Louise is Geena Davis. Have you never seen the movie?"

"I just alway skip to the part where Brad Pitt is shirtless" JJ quipped, causing Emily to laugh as well. "So really what are you feeling about Quinn?" JJ asked before lifting up her hand to stop any arguments from Emily. "And don't even try to deny it because I can tell you like him."

"Fine" Emily huffed as her voice became very soft, "He said something to me yesterday that I can't get out of my head."

"What?"

"He said he knows what it's like to be someone's second choice and it's like that perfectly describes what I feel like when I'm with Hotch."

"What do you mean?" JJ asked as she leaned forward in her chair to better hear her friend.

"I just always feel like Hotch and Haley have a connection that I won't ever have with him."

"Is this about him making you wait?"

Emily shook her head and pinned a strand of hair behind her hair before further explaining, "It's about how I knew part of him liked me before she died, but he didn't act on it because a bigger part of him still pined for her."

"And how do you feel about Quinn?"

"I like him" Emily confirmed, opting not to tell JJ about her having dinner with 'Peter Quinn: Expert at Eating Indian food.'

"So you're into him?"

"Maybe" Emily shrugged. "I just want to solve this case and worry about my personal life later but it keeps getting in the way. And now Hotch is being so unlike Hotch, talking to me about personal things at work."

JJ couldn't help but chuckle at the remark, "Emily do you not realize that if you two do start to date you'll be having your personal life mix with professional stuff all the time? That's what it's going to be like to have your boyfriend be the man who is also your boss."

Emily picked at her nails nervously. She had known that was a possibility but she didn't realize until lately how stressful it was. But everything was stressful with Hotch. And, yet, she was still drawn to him for some reason. She still wanted him, but she wasn't sure if she wanted him as much as she did before. Was her desire for him waning? And then there was Peter Quinn. Peter Quinn was a bit of an anomaly. He was a CIA assassin with a heart of gold and probably a child that he didn't often see. He was fiercely intense but also had a fun side to him. However, there was something about him that bothered her and she couldn't pinpoint it. She realized what it came down to was this, Hotch was an undeniably good man and Quinn was an unknown. The only question was, which one of them did she want? "I'm figuring out some things right now."

"Yeah two hot guys with guns are after you, what a tough life" JJ said sarcastically as Emily shot her a dirty look.

"You keep this up I'm going to PG about this next."

"That'll be the day" JJ laughed as the two women left the office with their go-bags in hand.

* * *

It was around 5pm when the BAU's private plane landed in Providence. The plane ride had been relatively non-eventful, up until right before the plane landed.

"Do we have a police escort waiting for us when we land?" Hotch inquired of JJ who looked over to Quinn for reassurance.

"No" Quinn answered.

"JJ did you forget to make the call to the local police to see if we could get invited on this case?"

"Hotch…" JJ trailed off before Hotch interrupted her in a stern voice.

"JJ."

Quinn turned his attention to Hotch, "I asked her not to."

"Quinn I understand that this is not your area of expertise but we have to be invited on cases. We can't just show up and take over local cases."

"We're not taking over this case Aaron. And as far as the local police know this case is not related to the Maryland ones and this task force never came to Providence. As far as anyone outside of this plane knows this task force does not exist and Farhat is just a college professor on leave for depression issues."

"So you are asking us to lie to the public?" Hotch inquired as JJ gave him a pointed look. Sure when it was a possible anthrax case it was okay to lie but when Quinn asked it wasn't?

"We cannot incite panic."

"And you don't think that having a serial killer in their midst isn't inciting panic?!"

"They don't know the cases on connected" Quinn argued back in a firm tone. "In case you forget Agent Hotchner, this case is a joint task force with the BAU and National Clandestine Service division of the CIA. It was never going to be broadcast to the public and if you couldn't handle that than you should have just agreed to turn it over to begin with. But here we are and this is how we are going to do it. So when we land we are going to check into the hotel and you and your team are going to wait until I get a location confirmed. And then we are going to do a soft entry into said location without a police presence. Do you understand?"

Hotch glared at the younger man, obviously not too pleased with the way Quinn had spoken to him. "I expect to be informed everything as soon as that intel comes in" he growled.

"And you will" Quinn affirmed before adding, "to a degree."

**Next chapter includes a Hotch/Prentiss date. How do you think it will go? What about Quinn?**


	8. I Want You

After the plane had landed the team noticed that a black SUV was waiting for them in the private airstrip's parking lot. No one bothered to ask how Quinn had arranged that, they were just happy to be off the plane, away from the indisputable tension. After checking in at the hotel Hotch and Emily broke off from the rest of the group to go on their coffee date.

The place that Hotch had found was a small local coffee shop that looked like it was frequented by college students. It was a Saturday night so there was some sort of poetry reading, which is why Hotch and Emily chose the table furthest from the stage.

"Thank you for the coffee" Emily politely said as she took another sip of her latte, with extra foam per her request.

"Well I had broken enough promises to you" Hotch replied sweetly before taking a bite of his blueberry scone.

"How is that?" Emily asked as she pointed to the scone Hotch was eating.

"Good, you want a bite?" He offered as he picked up the pastry and moved it closer to her.

"No thank you. Thanks for offering to share though."

Hotch nodded and gave a quick smile, "So what do you think about this case?"

"I don't really want to talk about work…if that's okay."

"Yeah sure" Hotch responded, desperately trying to come up with something to say to the brunette. "Umm…"

"How's Jack?" Emily asked saving Hotch, who was struggling to come up with something to talk about.

"He's good."

Emily smiled when thinking of the little boy. "You're a good father."

"Thank you."

_Wow, this is really awkward. Say words Prentiss, say words, _"So those Red Sox, man. JJ is going to have a tough year."

"You mean Redskins?" Hotch clarified with a small smile.

Emily blushed in embarrassment, "Oh yeah, Redskins."

"Don't ever try to talk sports again. That was, that was just bad" he chuckled.

"Shut up Hotch" Emily playfully scolded, feeling uncomfortable about just having told her boss to shut up.

"Aaron."

"What?"

"We're on a date. You should call me Aaron."

"Okay, so Aaron…"

Hotch interrupted her with a smile that showcased his dimples, "I like it when you say my name."

"Aaron?"

"Yeah like that" he confirmed with a twinkle in his eye.

"Agent Hotchner are you flirting with me?"

"I must not be doing a good enough job if you have to ask."

"You must not" Emily teased with a smirk as she took another sip of coffee.

The rest of the date was pleasant, albeit a little awkward at first. After arriving at the hotel Hotch and Emily separated, without a goodnight kiss, which per usual confused Emily. _Had it been a good date or not? Had it been a date? What is this?_ Hotch stated that he had to call Jack before he went to bed and quickly jogged off, leaving Emily alone in the parking lot with her thoughts. But part of her was glad, she was glad to have her time to herself to think. She knew that she would be grilled by her friends once she returned to the hotel and she needed time to process how it felt to be with Hotch. Emily sensed that there was an enormous amount of pressure that was put on the date, pressure that had been building over the years. It was different from any other first date Emily had been on before. Because they knew each other it was familiar for a first date, but still somehow guarded for two people who knew each other so intimately. Finally, Emily had come to the conclusion that as first dates went it was fine, but there was something that was missing. And she wasn't sure if her and Hotch were ever going to find it.

* * *

It was 10pm when Quinn finally got an address and into contact with a CIA team to turn Farhat over to. He wasn't going to be on the case any longer, he had found his man and looked forward to walking away from the last bit of Carrie that was left. He was smoking in the hotel parking lot, his back leaning against the rear of the black SUV when he saw Emily walking towards him. She had gone for a walk and out for a quiet dinner alone after her date with Hotch, needing the time to clear her head. "That's a horrible habit" she scolded as she pointed to his cigarette.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah" she said firmly as she flicked the cigarette out of his fingers. "Those things will kill you."

"I jog."

"So?"

"So they cancel each other out don't they?" He asked with a small smile as she shook her head. "You missed dinner with your team."

"Everyone went?"

"Yeah, they waited for you for a while. They went to some Italian place. When they got back Morgan told me Rossi complained the entire time…" Quinn stated as he was cut off by Emily's chuckling, which in turn made him smile. "What'd you do?"

"I went out by myself" Emily informed him with a shrug.

"How depressing" he deadpanned as he crossed his arms over his chest.

Emily cocked her head to the side and raised an eyebrow, "And what did you have for dinner?"

"A bag of mixed nuts and carrots" he confessed as she began to laugh.

"And you said what I had was sad."

"You could have invited me to dinner with you."

She ignored his comment and cut to the point, "You find anything?"

"I have an address. I want to do a 3am soft infiltration."

"You talk to Hotch yet?"

"Nope. I will" he assured her as she leaned up against the SUV beside him.

"You said something to me the other day."

"I say a lot of things" he remarked as he paused briefly. "What was it?" He asked as he turned to face her.

"Do you have a child?"

Quinn took a deep breath and rubbed his eyes before crossing his arms again and answering her. "Yeah, my ex-girlfriend doesn't let me have anything to do with…I get it you know? I wasn't around. I send her a check every month but she doesn't even want that from me anymore."

"I'm sorry" Emily offered in a kind voice. She didn't know what else to say in that situation. She understood what had happened from both sides. She knew what it was like to be raised by an absentee parent and knew that it wasn't good for a child. But, on the other hand, Emily also knew how painful it could be to lose a child, even if it was in a different way than how Quinn lost his.

"She married someone else. It's kind of fucked up to have someone else raise you child as their own. But she says it's better that way and what right do I have to argue with her? It's not like I'm fucking father of the year. I was gone" he admitted in a dejected tone.

"That's, that's tough" Emily stuttered, unable to find the right words.

"And you?"

"What do you mean?"

"You have any kids?"

"No" Emily answered in a soft voice. "I don't."

Quinn noticed that there seemed to be more there but didn't push. The truth was that Quinn liked Emily, he really liked her and all he wanted to do was make things easier for her. He didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable. "You know things about me."

Emily chuckled at the loaded statement. For people like her, and Quinn, having people know personal things about your life was a big deal. "You know things about me too."

Quinn scanned the empty parking lot before speaking again, "How many people know about Doyle?"

"Outside of my Interpol team, you" Emily confessed as she pinned a strand of hair behind her ear.

Quinn smiled at the revelation, "So what's going on with you and Hotchner?"

"I don't want to talk about him with you" Emily confessed in a kind voice, careful not to snap at the CIA agent.

"Okay. What do you want to talk about with me then?"

"How you need to quit smoking."

"I'm trying."

"You're failing" she teased as she lightly poked him in the chest. After a few moments of comfortable silence Emily spoke up again, "You need to talk with Hotch about apprehending Farhat."

"I thought you didn't want to talk about him with me."

"Peter, you know what I meant."

"I know" he nodded as he glanced down at the asphalt ground. "Did you ever worry about it?"

"About what?"

"Losing yourself, turning into this part of a machine?"

"Sometimes" she confessed with a sad smile.

Quinn inhaled sharply as he scratched the hair near his temple. "You make me feel more human."

Emily gazed into the sad eyes of Peter Quinn and wondered what secrets he had been living with over all those years. There was an acute sense of closeness the two had shared, a trust that motivated them to share intimate details about their lives. The secrets that defined them. The fears they only shared with each other. "I'm sorry if you ever felt that you weren't."

And that's when it happened. Quinn moved off the back of the car to stand in front of Emily and gently cupped her cheek with his left hand, leaning in to kiss her. It was a surprisingly intimate and gentle kiss that was deepened by Emily. The kiss immediately became more passionate as Emily's lips granted permission to Quinn's tongue. Emily ran her hands through Quinn's hair as he kept his hands on either side of Emily, bracing himself on the back of the SUV. When their lungs began to burn and the need for air became a problem they finally, and reluctantly, pulled apart. Emily couldn't remember the last time she had been kissed like that, but immediately felt guilty about kissing Quinn. She shouldn't be kissing him after a date with Hotch. Should she?

"You should go" Emily breathlessly ordered as Quinn nodded.

"I need you to know that you matter to me. That I want you" he whispered into her ear, feeling her nod in reply against his neck. He realized the kiss probably already established that, but he wanted her to know anyway. He wanted to tell her.

"You need to go" she commanded gently as her hand grazed down his back before she jerked it back to her side.

"I don't want to."

"I know, but you have to" she said softly as she brushed out his hair with her fingers.

Quinn nodded slightly, "I needed you to know."

"I know" she confirmed as she bit her bottom lip, hoping that no one had seen her and Quinn together.

"Okay" he quietly agreed as he walked away from her into the direction of the hotel's main entrance.

"So I go out on a date with Hotch and I end up kissing Peter in a parking lot" Emily mumbled to herself as she shook her head in disbelief.

How had her love life become so complicated? However, the scary part was that, in her heart, it wasn't complicated. In her heart she already knew what she wanted. But would she be brave enough to admit it?

**Will the task force apprehend their suspect? How will that affect the Hotch/Emily/Quinn love triangle? ****Mind you, it will come into play. Any predictions?**

**Remember that Emily will choose either Quinn or Hotch. She can't have both, well in this story anyway. Who should she pick? Who has she already picked in her heart? **

**Also Ian Doyle is still coming. He appears in the story the same way he does on the show, but there is a twist...**


	9. An Unexpected Phone Call

**Tension is coming up regarding the Hamid Farhat case, pay attention to an upcoming Hotch/Emily conversation for a clue...**

After hearing Quinn's news about a possible location for Farhat, Hotch had gathered the team together in his room to go over plans for the newest operation.

"There will be no police support. We are going to do a soft infiltration which means stealth. We don't go in noisy, we get our man and get out" Quinn informed the team as he nodded towards Hotch to continue.

"Quinn will be giving up sniper support while the rest of us enter the warehouse. Garcia found the plans for the building and it looks like it has three entry points which means that we will have three separate teams. Team A taking the back alleyway will be myself and Rossi. It is the most likely exit Farhat will take. The main entrance will be covered by Team B, Morgan and JJ, and the side entrance that leads on to the side street will be covered by Prentiss and Reid, Team C. However, this time we anticipate that Farhat will be armed."

"Which is irrelevant because no one can take a shot at Farhat. The success of this operation rests solely on Farhat being apprehended alive. Once again you cannot take the shot" Quinn reiterated in a firm voice. "We need him alive."

"And what if we need to take a shot for our own safety?" Morgan asked as he crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"I will be providing sniper support."

"Gear up and let's go" Hotch ordered as the team strapped on their Kevlar vests, save for Quinn who just checked his rifle case.

Hotch watched on as Emily walked to Quinn, "Where's your vest?"

"I don't do vests. Plus I'm not going to be in harm's way."

"Let's see if I get this straight. You don't do vests or credentials. Peter what do you do?" Emily asked as Quinn smirked at the question. Emily cut him off before he could say whatever mouthy remark he was going to make, "Don't even think about saying it or you'll regret not wearing a vest after all."

Quinn laughed at the empty threat before lowering his voice, "Be careful."

"I will" she assured as Hotch watched on feeling jealous and once again wondering what was going on between Emily and Quinn. The chemistry between the two was blatantly obvious, whether one was a profiler or not.

"Let's move" Hotch ordered in a stern tone as he walked out of the small hotel room.

* * *

The infiltration started off normally, that was until the entire warehouse was cleared and there was no sign of Farhat. Quinn had heard the rooms being cleared one by one over the mics and worried that Farhat might have been tipped off. But by who? Quinn concluded that Farhat must have been out and made a tactical decision. "Remain in the building, wait for Farhat to arrive."

"What?" Morgan asked over the mic, sharing a look with JJ in the dark warehouse.

"We need to apprehend him tonight before he escapes again."

"Quinn it's 3:30am, he's not fucking here" Morgan grumbled over the communication.

"He's here" Quinn assured.

The next voice to speak up was Hotch's, "We need to catch him before he hurts another girl."

"Unless he already has. Think about it, this is his normal time window when he attacks his victims" Reid spoke up. "Maybe that's why he's not here."

"He'd be accelerating again then" Rossi surmised.

Quinn cut into the conversation, "stand your positions. Remember you cannot take the shot."

After a few minutes of waiting on top of a nearby wall, Quinn thought he might have seen movement off the main street heading towards the side street. "I see movement near Team C's position, stay vigilant" he warned as he moved to get into a better angle for a shot. This was all part of the job, patience. As he looked through the scope he noticed that Farhat had a bulge in the back of his jeans and deduced that Farhat was definitely armed. "Team C Farhat is coming near you. He has a weapon, do not shoot" he ordered through the mics.

"Quinn…" Emily huffed.

"Do not shoot Emily, trust me."

"I'm blind here" She argued as she looked over to Reid who nodded in agreement. In essence they were just waiting by a side door for a man with a gun to show up. To make matters worse Quinn didn't want them to take the shot if they needed to.

"We can't fuck it up now, we need Farhat."

Hotch cut in over the mics, "Rossi and I will move to your position."

"No, you'll spook him. Stand down Hotchner" Quinn ordered sternly.

"We're cutting around the back" Hotch informed in a curt tone as he looked over to Rossi who just shook his head 'no.'

"Stand the fuck down Hotchner, that is an order. Emily I've got your back. I've got you" he assured as he kept his eyes focused on Farhat, hoping to get the perfect angle. "Do you trust me?"

Emily looked over to Reid who nodded, "We do."

"I'll hit him and you'll apprehend him" Quinn instructed as he continued to monitor Farhat, waiting for the perfect angle to incapacitate but not kill him. Before Farhat had the opportunity to turn into the doorway a shot rang out in the quiet night as Farhat slumped to the ground, yelling out in pain. Emily quickly kicked the gun away and cuffed Farhat to a pipe while Reid applied pressure to the man's knee wound. Quinn's shot had hit Farhat perfectly in the back of his knee, surprising him and causing him to drop his gun.

"Farhat apprehended" Reid said over the mics as Quinn grinned while watching Emily work.

"Nice work Agents" Quinn commended, but everyone knew he meant the compliment for Emily. He quickly took out his phone and placed a quick call to his backup agents, ordering them to pick up Farhat and take him to a hospital. He then packed up his rifle case and jumped off the wall, heading towards Emily, Reid and Farhat.

However, as Quinn was heading over Hotch briskly up to the duo. "Strauss called, we have a case. We're heading to Miles City, Montana. Quinn can finish up here, wheels up in 30" Hotch instructed before turning back to Emily. "Also Prentiss, Garcia said you had a call and to contact her so she can give you the message."

Emily looked over to Quinn who nodded to her, "I can finish up here. You should know, you do good work."

"You too" she offered with a smile as she and Reid walked off to follow Hotch.

However, Quinn jogged after her and briefly pulled her aside. "Tell me something about yourself." This time it was his turn to request a fact about her in their cherished goodbye ritual.

"Like what?"

"What was your childhood like?"

Emily chuckled at the question, knowing that a question like that was going to take a lot more time than either of them had at the moment. "It was lonely, I always wanted to belong. I always wanted that security that comes with the stability of a real home."

"I'm sorry" he said sadly as he quickly glanced over to Farhat, who was being carefully watched by an agent that had arrived and called for a ambulance.

"Don't be, I found it now" she offered as she walked after her departing team.

* * *

The team had been briefed about the case on the plane. There had been a killing spree in a local convenience store and the body count was exceptionally high. It was highly probable that the unit was looking for a team. After he finished briefing the team and giving out the different assignments Hotch took his seat and observed Emily. He could tell she was deep in thought about something and had hoped that she wasn't regretting their coffee date. "It'll be nice" Hotch said discretely as he sat next to Emily. By that time the rest of the team was already out for the night, trying to catch up on sleep. But Emily had been busy reflecting on her relationship with Hotch, and Quinn.

"What?" Emily asked absent-mindedly as she turned to face the man who was seated next to her.

"It'll be nice to finally get some closure on this case. To get the families back in Maryland some closure. It'll be a relief to be done with the joint task force, Quinn. After we're get Farhat and get a confession we're done" he stated with a small smile.

"You didn't like him?"

"Who?"

"Quinn."

Hotch scoffed at the question, "And you did?"

"He's a good agent" Emily offered with a shrug.

"That's debatable" Hotch huffed. "Don't forget to call Garcia" he ordered before moving back to his seat.

* * *

Meanwhile, whilst the BAU team headed to their first official case after their brief joint task force hiatus, Quinn exited the hospital where he had deposited Hamid Farhat with a CIA analyst team. The new team was going to keep Farhat under strict watch until it was safe for them to move him to a safe house to begin interrogating him about his connection to the Tehran terror cell. Ironically though, just as Quinn though he had let go of his last piece of Carrie Mathison he received a phone call. The number was one that he didn't recognize, but he knew who it was regardless. Quinn answered the phone but waited for a female voice to speak up before he acknowledged the call.

"Hey, it's me."

"What's going on?"

"I'm in Virginia, meet me tomorrow for lunch."

Quinn looked around the empty parking lot and sighed, "Okay Carrie. Whatever you need."

**Now we might just have our love rectangle.**

**Will Quinn choose the possibility of Emily or Carrie? Will Emily choose Quinn or Hotch? Will I throw a huge curveball make Emily run off in a tawdry love affair with JJ? (No I won't do that, this time anyway.)**

**And loyal CM fans will know what/who Garcia was calling about based on where the team is heading (hint hint)...**


	10. Kissing Hotch

**Quinn meets with Carrie. What about Emily?**

"Hey PG, Hotch said you needed to talk to me" Emily hinted as she stepped off the plane in Montana and called up the perpetually positive technical analyst.

"How's it going, stranger?" Garcia asked in a bubbly tone.

Emily smiled, "Oh, I'm a little tired."

"Yeah, a love triangle will do that to a girl. And is it going to get a little more interesting because this call for you from a Sean McAllister came to my phone accidentally. He sounded very hot and very important."

Emily clutched the phone a little harder at the mention of the name. "Did he leave a message?"

"No. But it's from Paris. A Scottish guy calling from Paris. Know this, Emily, even if he is ugly, Scottish guys are hot. It's the accent. Remember this when considering your vast options of brooding men after you."

"I'll keep that in mind" she chuckled.

"So what's the skinny? Is he an ex? International booty call?"

Emily rolled her eyes at the assumption, "No. He's a friend."

"A friend looking to enter your little brewing love rectangle."

"Love rectangle?"

"Duh, Hotch, You, Quinn, and now this sexy Scot!"

"Bye Garcia" Emily hung up as she wondered what Sean McAllister was trying to contact her about. She shrugged it off and entered into the obligatory black Bureau SUV to be brought to the next crime scene.

* * *

Quinn walked into the quiet Virginia café to meet Carrie Mathison. She looked tired, with dark bags under her eyes. Her hands rested on her pronounced pregnant stomach.

"You look good" she greeted warmly as Quinn sat down on the seat across from her.

"Is it safe for you to be traveling?" He asked, his voice laden with concern.

"I'm staying in the states until I have the baby. My sister wants me to have the baby here and it makes sense. I think it's better this way…" She trailed off as he picked up on what she was saying. She was leaving the baby with her sister and father, and was planning on returning to her post overseas without her child.

Quinn drank a sip of water before speaking up, "So you're spending your maternity leave here and then heading back to Istanbul?"

"Yeah, but that's what I need your help with" she informed him in a more frantic voice as she leaned forward. "I think there's a connection to something going on in Pakistan. I don't know what it is yet, but it's there. I want you to come with me."

Quinn took a deep breath before answering, "Carrie I can't do that. Not this time."

"I checked with Lockhart, you aren't on any new cases yet. He promised me that he wouldn't reassign you. Quinn I need your help." It was a sentence that she had uttered before, a sentence that immediately prompted Quinn to aid her, even when no one else believed in her. That was what Carrie appreciated about Quinn, he never doubted her, even though he knew about her mental health issues.

"Carrie, this time I can't."

"So you want to stay in D.C.?" She asked in disbelief. Quinn didn't turn down assignments, especially with her. "You hate working at headquarters. Why?"

"I can give you some names of a few agents that I know won't fuck you over but…"

Carrie lifted her hand to interrupt him, "Who is she?"

"What?"

"Who is she?" She questioned in a quieter and less accusatory tone.

"She works for the FBI."

Carrie scoffed, "That's a little pedestrian."

"She's not" he defended adamantly, his arms crossed across his body. "She's smart and she's good. She's good at what she does." Quinn ran his hands over his eyes before he continued, "It's different with her."

"Are you in love with her?"

"I don't know yet, maybe."

Carrie rolled her eye at the statement, "Are you fucking her?"

"No."

Carried chuckled at the admission, "Well then you must actually like her."

"I do" Quinn confessed in a quiet voice before getting firmer with her. "Carrie you are fucking amazing at your job and whoever is by your side will realize that within ten seconds of working with you. You will find whatever you are looking for, if it exists you will find it. I'll always be your friend, but this time…I can't just run off with you this time."

"Okay" she nodded. "What do you think about the other thing?"

"The baby?" Quinn inquired as he leaned back in his chair.

"Yeah. You think it's a mistake?"

"I do, but maybe it's a mistake you have to make" he said as he got up from the chair. "Don't ever doubt your skills. You don't need me there to do your job. You were right before I came along and you'll be right even when I'm gone" he assured as he patted her arm in a comforting manner. "And I meant what I said a few weeks ago. You can be a mom. Don't fuck everything up like I did. Be better than me."

* * *

After finishing the case in Montana, Emily walked into the small dark D.C. bar and smiled when she saw her old friend Sean McAllister sitting a leather booth.

"Sean, how are you?"

"Good."

"So, I was gonna call you back. I just got busy on a case."

"I had to be in D.C. anyway." He briefly paused before speaking again, "Ian Doyle vanished from prison. Interpol can't find him."

"What, what are you saying?"

"He's off the grid, Emily."

"Do you think he's headed here? Am I in danger?"

"We all are" he said ominously as Emily closed her eyes and slightly gulped. She had been living on borrowed time, and she knew it. Because no one stopped Ian Doyle and got away with it, not even Emily Prentiss.

* * *

Emily left the bar in a daze. She couldn't believe what she was hearing, Ian Doyle had escaped. Ian Doyle was going to come for her, it was only a matter of time. Only a matter of time before he found out she wasn't Lauren Reynolds. Only a matter of time before he found out that she wasn't really dead. Only a matter of time before he found her, Emily Prentiss.

She shuddered at the thought as she entered into her dark and empty apartment. She heard her phone ring and quickly ignored it when she saw the name _Peter _flash across the screen. She couldn't think about Peter Quinn right then, she had to remain focused on the task at hand. She checked each room, scolding herself internally for being so afraid, for not believing that Interpol's protocols could protect her. She was fine, right?

But if she was so fine why did she jump when she heard a knock at the door. She chuckled at the thought of Ian Doyle knocking at her door. When he came for her he wasn't going to be as polite. She quickly got off her living room sofa and opened the door to find Hotch standing in her hallway.

"I should have done this last week" was all he said before his lips crashed against hers. Emily stood partially in shock as Hotch kissed her, his lips firmly pressed against hers. She awkwardly moved her hands to his chest, confused about whether she wanted to push him away or deepen the kiss. She was perplexed by this recent development. Mainly because when she kissed Quinn she wanted to deepen the kiss immediately, but with Hotch there was this sense of reluctance. Maybe it was because he was her boss, or maybe it was the Doyle situation. He pulled away from the kiss and gave her a small smile, but all Emily felt was guilt. She couldn't help but compare her kiss with Hotch to her previous kiss with Quinn, and unlike her kiss with Quinn it hadn't been as intimate or as passionate. This kiss was urgent, and, granted, a bit more fitting for the mood Emily was in.

"I'll see you tomorrow" Hotch assured as he gently stroked Emily's cheek and walked down the hallway.

He was proud of what he had done. He was proud that he had taken the risk, and the kiss was good wasn't it? Maybe Emily wasn't into it as much as he was, but she was probably just tired. But then Hotch wondered if he was as into the kiss as much as he thought, or if he was just trying to convince himself that he was. But he concluded that it was Emily and he would make it work regardless. It was a first kiss, those didn't always go perfectly right? It was going to take some time for them to find their rhythm.

However, as he walked down the quiet D.C. street he wondered if he should have just left like that. Should he have stayed? What would other men have done in a situation like that with Emily Prentiss? What would Peter Quinn done in that situation? What would Hotch have done if Emily was Haley? Hotch shook the thoughts from his head as he approached his car and headed home to Jack.

* * *

It had taken some time, and unfortunately some fresh bodies, but the BAU had finally solved the serial killer case in Montana the day before. However, both unsubs were left dead and when Hotch was called into Strauss' office the next morning he expected that was what the conversation was going to revolve around. But his assumption was wrong.

"Ma'am" he greeted coldly as he entered into Erin Strauss' large office and opted to stand rather than sit.

"Aaron we need to talk…"

**What could the conversation with Strauss be about? **

**Any predictions? Here's a small hint, it involves Peter Quinn.**

**Additionally, just a head up, this isn't a Doyle/Emily love story of any kind and the Doyle storyline is primarily used to set up the ending of this work. If you were hoping for Doyle/Prentiss interactions I'm really sorry, but I hope you continue reading on anyway. **

**Thanks again for all the reviews and predictions. I hope everyone enjoys reading this regardless of who Emily picks at the end. She makes her pick in the next chapter. **


	11. Walking Away

**The Farhat case comes back into play. ****There were a few small hints to this, especially during Quinn's conversation with CIA Director Senator Lockhart. If you've read my other works you know that I never like to waste a set up.**

"Ma'am" Hotch greeted coldly as he entered into Erin Strauss' large office and opted to stand rather than sit.

"Aaron we need to talk" she said firmly as she motioned for him to sit down.

"I'd rather stand."

"Very well then" she conceded before she began. "We need to talk about your work on the Farhat case."

"Ma'am are you not pleased with the manner we worked on the case?"

"No, you and your team did admirable work on the case. However, it appears that the CIA gave us the wrong impression about Mr. Farhat" Strauss carefully worded as Hotch furrowed his brow and crossed his arms in typical Hotchner fashion.

"And what was that?"

Strauss took off her glasses to gaze into the skeptical eyes of the man in front of her, "That we were going to get him back for the College Park, Maryland cases."

"Ma'am?"

"I just got the phone with the Director and he confirmed that CIA is dealing with Farhat on their own terms."

"And what about the families of the victims back in College Park? What about finishing that case?" Hotch asked as his voice noticeably turned more irate.

Strauss shook her head and sighed, "The case will remain open. The CIA doesn't want any leaks on Farhat. As far as College Park is concerned, we never found out who the unsub was."

"What?!" Hotch questioned in a voice that he should have not used with his superior. Fortunately for him she understood his justifiable frustration and ignored his tone.

"The decision was already made."

"When?"

"Apparently before we formed the task force."

"Who made this decision?"

"Senator Lockhart."

Hotch scoffed at just the mention of the name, "CIA Director? How long have you known?"

"Both the Director and I have just been informed. Like you we were under the impression that once Farhat talked he would be turned over to us, a conclusion we came to after being assured repeatedly by Senator Lockhart. However, I believe that he just wanted to use the BAU to expedite the process of finding Farhat for his agent."

"Quinn" Hotch interjected bitterly.

"I'm sorry Aaron, but there's nothing I can do. There's nothing the Director can do. Lockhart's decision was supported by The Department of Homeland Security, The Secretary of Defense, and a Senate Committee led by Senator Cramer."

"His old friends" Hotch said venomously as he shook his head, "What am I supposed to tell the families? Am I just supposed to let it go? To never let them get closure, never let them know the truth about what happened to their loved ones?"

"I don't know" Strauss admitted with a small groan.

"What do I tell the team?"

"That is up to your discretion" she offered. "That's all I had for you today" she concluded as she dismissed the upset unit chief from her office. He couldn't believe that he had been tricked by Peter Quinn, manipulated into using his team under false pretenses. Hotch stomped into the BAU and growled, "Conference Room now" before he slammed the conference room door behind him. Reid looked to Emily with a questioning look, causing her to shrug in reply. She had no idea what Hotch was so upset about, he seemed perfectly fine when he was kissing her the night before.

* * *

The team filtered into the BAU conference room, keenly aware of the tension playing across Hotch's face. "I just spoke with Strauss."

"What does she want now?" Rossi questioned with a sigh as he ran his hand through his perfectly coiffed hair.

"Please don't interrupt. We have a case in Los Angeles we need to get to, but we need to get this out of the way first. This time it isn't anything Strauss has done. It's about the College Park, Maryland and possibly related Providence, Rhode Island murders…"

"Yeah when are we going to finish that?" Morgan interrupted, earning a glare from Hotch.

"We aren't" Hotch sternly said as the team looked at him collectively confused. "The CIA and Agent Quinn never intended to turn over Farhat to be questioned or arrested for the murders he had committed in both Maryland and the matching kill in Rhode Island. This means that the cases will remain open."

"But we caught him" Reid quietly said. "He can't just get away with it."

"The CIA has plans for him…" Hotch trailed off before Emily spoke up.

"They want to turn him into an asset."

Hotch nodded as Morgan stewed before having an outburst, "I can't believe this! Why did they even let us in on the arrest if we were never going to get a fucking shot at that shithead. Fuck!"

"Morgan" Hotch chided. "I apologize but I thought you should know where we are on the case." Hotch looked pointedly over at Emily before he uttered his next few words, "I thought you should all know who Agent Quinn really is."

"Are you sure that Quinn knew boss?" Garcia gently asked, worried about how the revelation may affect Emily. She liked the idea of Quinn and Emily together and was shocked that the man could lie to them, to Emily, the entire time they were consulting on a case.

"Positive" Hotch answered firmly before turning towards JJ. "Start the briefing please" Hotch instructed as he finally took a seat.

* * *

While everyone was gathering their things to prepare to leave for Los Angeles, Emily excused herself to call Quinn. Emily left the prying eyes of the BAU in favor of her car, seeking privacy. She felt so betrayed, so used and those feelings only compounded with her stress over the reappearance of Ian Doyle. She had trusted Quinn. But now, now she had picked up on that one specific fault in him that she couldn't pinpoint before.

Quinn was working surveillance on a case at Langley when he saw that Emily was calling him. "Emily…"

"What the fuck is wrong with you Peter?!"

"What?" He asked innocently. He had no idea what he had done to provoke the brunette.

"You never intended on turning over Farhat did you?"

"No" he nonchalantly answered.

"No? That's all you can fucking say? No? What the fuck Quinn? You make us help you find your guy and then you just take him and now what? He's going to be let go? He killed three women" she ranted before being cut off by Quinn.

"First, no one made the BAU join the task force. If it wasn't for fucking Aaron Hotchner there would have never been a task force to begin with, it would have been solely a CIA case. He's the one that practically begged to be in on the case. Second, we both know that Farhat will watched for the rest of his fucking life and used for every iota of information that the CIA can milk him for. It's not like he's going to retire to the fucking Bahamas. And finally, you know how it works Emily."

"You lied to me!"

"I thought you knew! The Lockhart said you all knew before we even started the task force. Why would I think any different?" Quinn defended.

"Peter…"

Quinn voice immediately became firmer with her, "Emily don't play stupid with me. We both know you know how this works. We use Farhat to find everyone else. I thought you knew this going in. Why the fuck would we turn over a potential asset? You know exactly how the CIA operates…"

Emily was quick to interrupt him, "Oh fuck you Peter. Do you even give a shit about the families?"

Peter took a deep breath as he got up from the computers he was sitting in front of, choosing to pace rather than sit. "And what about the families that are going to die during a terrorist attack? Do not for one second try to play this off like you don't know how this works. I know you better than that Emily."

"You're supposed to be different!"

"What? So now I control the entire fucking CIA?" Quinn rhetorically asked in a spiteful tone. "Emily, I didn't lie to you. You had to know it was always going to be this way."

Emily exhaled sharply as she hit the steering wheel in frustration with her left hand. "Peter, tell me the truth. Do you even give a shit about the four victims or are they just expendable to you?"

Quinn closed his eyes and took a deep breath, "Emily, this is the way it works."

"Yeah and maybe that's the problem" Emily concluded as she hung up the phone.

It wasn't just Quinn that bothered her, it was everything. It was the normal stress of work, added to the anxiety of working with Hotch, added to the anxiety of finding out about Doyle's escape. It was just a lethal combination of everything that swirled in her head, making her feel nauseated and exhausted. But ironically she couldn't sleep. It was how unaffected Quinn was about the victim's families, it was how apathetic he was. It was how acutely aware she was about how things in the intelligence world worked. All she wanted was to feel the same outrage about Farhat being an asset as the rest of her team, but she understood it. She understood completely what the CIA was doing and Quinn knew it. He knew her. He knew who she truly was, what she had done, and as a result she couldn't hide from him. The idea of being completely laid bare terrified her, because everything she disliked about herself was partially reflected in Quinn. He didn't just know her because he read some file. He knew her because of how similar they were. And maybe Emily Prentiss didn't like herself enough to date someone who reminded her so much of herself. Maybe she would be better off with Aaron Hotchner, the good guy. The man who could compensate for any goodness she felt she was lacking. But now wasn't the time to question relationships. Now was the time to track down an unsub who had been killing innocent women. Emily compartmentalized her personal thoughts as she prepared herself for work.

The case had lasted a couple of days, and as the days passed more memories of Ian Doyle and her past ran through Emily's subconscious. The memories haunted her as she dissected every interaction with Doyle before he was arrested. She reflected on every emotion that played across his face and wondered, did he know all along? And while Emily seemed to be constantly on the phone with old colleagues, she was systematically avoiding the phone calls of a certain Peter Quinn.

That was until the BAU jet landed back in Quantico, when she decided to finally make contact with him. She had texted Quinn to meet her at the BAU parking lot at 8pm, cautiously avoiding the vigilant eyes of JJ.

* * *

Quinn exited his car and ran through the rain to get into Emily's front seat. "Thanks for meeting me."

"We need to talk" Emily replied coldly as she turned to face the man. "What are we doing?"

Quinn tilted his head in confusion as he gazed at her, "What do you mean?"

"I just, I don't see this working" she admitted softly. "This case is just…"

"Emily, I promise I didn't lie to you."

"I know" Emily confessed as she looked down to the carpeting on her car floor, analyzing the fabric. "But the case is over now and…" she drifted off, hoping that he would get what she meant. He did.

A few moments of silence passed before Quinn took a deep breath and cut into the quiet, "Will, will I ever see you again?"

"Probably not."

"D.C. is a small town" he offered with a sad smile that broke Emily's heart. It was the same sediment she had uttered to him a few weeks prior.

"It's not that small."

"It's him isn't it?" Quinn asked in a tender voice as the heavy rain pounded on the car.

"Peter."

Quinn shook his head in disbelief and he looked away from Emily, "I just can't keep being everyone's second choice."

"It's not him, it's us. Peter when I look at you, I see myself. I see everything I have ever done that I've regretted and it tortures me. With us it's just so messy. We're too similar We both know each other too well. We know what we're capable of..."

"You say that as if it's a bad thing."

Emily gazed at the man in front of her and spoke in such a soft voice that it was barely audible, "Maybe it is."

"Emily life is messy" Quinn argued in a louder voice than he had used all night.

"I know but with Hotch things are just always going to be…"

"Cleaner" Quinn interjected as Emily nodded in reply. "He's FBI and I'm CIA."

"Yeah."

"Maybe I'll admit that he's the better guy, but that doesn't mean he's the right guy."

Emily's deep brown eyes locked with the steel-blue eyes of Peter Quinn, the eyes that revealed all the pain she had inflicted on him and she didn't even know the half of it. She didn't know that he had risked everything and chose her over Carrie. She didn't know how much she really meant to him, but before the night ended she would.

Emily didn't know what to say in those quiet moments as Quinn processed what had just occurred. She watched him clench his jaw and open the car door to step out. At the last minute, before he had a chance to walk away, she stopped him. It was her turn. "Peter" she called as he turned around to face her again.

He stood soaking wet outside of the dry car in the cold spring rain, gazing at the woman in front of him. It was a pattern they had adopted over the past few weeks. Whenever they parted they would confess something personal about themselves. It was ritual just for themselves, completely unique and guarded from the rest of the world. It wasn't something that he had done with Carrie, and it wasn't a custom she had adopted with Hotch either. It was a simple phrase that had drawn together two people who were, in many ways, emotionally closed off to just about everyone else. This was her way of telling him goodbye, her way of reminding him that, yes, he did matter. Quinn glanced off to the side before refocusing on Emily, the rain clouding his vision of her.

"Tell me something about yourself."

Normally the pattern would have had Quinn ask Emily '_like what?' _after her request. But this time was different. This time he, without coaxing, confessed something that only a handful of people had known. His voice was faint, barely discernible over the heavy rainfall, but she heard him nonetheless.

"I have a son, John Jr."

It was a simple sentence, one that would have been unremarkable to anyone else. But it conveyed so much more than it let on. Because not only did it confirm the gender of his child and reveal the child's name, but it also revealed _his _name. His real name, his birth name. His identity outside of the CIA. The sentence had expressed a sense of intimacy, of trust. Trust that not only would Emily never harm him, but that she would also never harm his son. And in that one moment Emily knew how much she really meant to Peter Quinn. There was no doubt in her mind.

The sentence replayed in her head on repeat as she watched Peter Quinn walk away from her car and out of her life…forever?

**Has our love triangle come to an end?**

**It seems that Emily picked Hotch, are you happy about that?**

**Also in the next chapter someone from a later season makes an ****appearance? Predictions on who it might be? They aren't very popular.**


	12. Hotch Doesn't Have A Dog

**For any wondering, Doyle is going to appear the same way he does in the show but with a distinct twist. **

After ending things with Quinn, Emily returned home to her quiet apartment, returning to the paranoia and fear that now governed her life. As she cleared each room of her apartment one by one she hastily answered a phone call from Reid, who was completely oblivious to her emotional state. She was grateful for that much at least.

"Reid?"

"Emily, you are not going to believe this."

"No?"

"They're showing 'Solaris' tonight, the original, in the theaters. You want to go?"

"Did Morgan put you up to this?"

"What?"

"Did Morgan tell you to call me?"

"No, Morgan would have no idea what 'Solaris' is."

"So, uh, you just called me out of the blue."

"Well, I mean, the original one's in Russian, so, really, you and I are the only ones that can really enjoy it."

"Isn't 'Solaris' like four hours long?"

"It's five. The best Sci-Fi meditation film of all time. But for some reason, they never really show it in the theaters. You want to go with me?"

"Sorry, handsome. I'm gonna have to pass. I'm just gonna hang out with Sergio tonight."

_My god, how many boyfriends does Emily have?_ "Oh, shoot. I didn't realize that…"

"Relax, Reid. Sergio is my new cat. But, um Thank you."

"For what?"

"For being you."

"Aw, thanks. I don't know how to be anyone else."

"Yeah. That's what I love about you."

"Bye." Reid hung up completely confused by that phone call. What had Emily meant by thanking him for being himself? How could he not be himself if he was himself? It was an interesting paradox. Reid shrugged and went about his night, unaware of the emotional turmoil his friend was in.

* * *

The rest of the night Emily focused on rigging her apartment so she could be alerted whenever Doyle came for her. It was no longer a matter of _if_ he was coming, it was _when_ he was going to exact revenge on her. However, as soon as she booby-trapped most of her home she heard a knock at the door. She looked down to her cellphone and realized that she had missed three phone calls from none other than Aaron Hotchner. _He always did have the best timing _she internally complained as she put away her gun.

"Emily it's me" she heard him call over the door as she picked up her vase and worked on moving the hallway table back away from the door as quietly as she could. It didn't work. "Emily are you okay?"

"Yeah I was just moving furniture around" she lied as she put the table back against the hallway wall and opened the door.

"You were moving furniture at 10 o'clock at night?" He asked suspiciously.

"Umm, well with our schedule we don't really have any other time. What's up, why are you here so late?" She asked awkwardly as he followed her into the spacious apartment.

"Well with our schedule we don't have any other time" he remarked with a barely noticeable smile. "What is going on with us?"

"What do you mean?" Emily asked as she sat down in the corner of the sofa, hoping that Hotch wouldn't sit right next to her, which he did, of course.

"I mean what are we doing? Are we together or trying or what?"

"I don't know" Emily confessed as she picked at her fingernails nervously.

Hotch furrowed his brow at Emily's reply. That wasn't what he was expecting to hear. Ever since she had met Peter Quinn he had felt like Emily was pulling away from him. Did she not want him anymore? She had waited for him for months and now what? She suddenly didn't care? "Is this about Peter Quinn?"

"No" she lied. It was about Peter. She couldn't think about relationships right then. She couldn't think about love or happiness on the same night she had broken Quinn's heart. He had opened up to her, and she knew how difficult that was and, yet, she had still picked Hotch over him. Hadn't she?

"Don't lie to me" Hotch ordered in a firmer tone. "Are you involved with Peter Quinn?"

"No."

"Good."

"Why good?" Emily asked as she glared at Hotch. Hotch didn't know Quinn, he had never given him a chance. What right did he have to judge him? Or her for that matter. And what would Hotch think when he found out the truth about her? It didn't even phase Quinn because he knew she had no other choice, but Hotch? Hotch didn't see things in grey. He saw things in black and white, which is what made him so different from Quinn. Because for all of his faults Hotch was inherently good, he was pure in a way. The only time he had broken the rules, so to speak, had been when he killed Foyet. And who could blame him? Foyet had murdered Haley and put his son at risk. And there it was again. Haley had come up once again. Emily's internally ramblings were cut off by Hotch's stern tone cutting through the silence of the large apartment.

"Why good? You know the sort of person Quinn is. You know what he did. He manipulated us…"

"He didn't." She interjected firmly. "He thought we already knew."

Hotch was becoming more and more exasperated by Emily's defense of Peter Quinn. "Why are you defending him?"

"I'm not, I'm just telling you the truth. Anyway did you want to come over here and talk about Peter or what?"

Hotch picked up on Emily calling Quinn 'Peter' and wondered how close the two had gotten over the past case. "I want to talk about our relationship."

"Our relationship" Emily scoffed at the term before laying into Hotch, "What relationship? The one where we made me wait for nine months, took me out for coffee, didn't kiss me goodnight, left me in the parking lot, and then showed up at my door days later to kiss me and then went home? That relationship?!"

"It's more complicated than that Emily and you know it" Hotch huffed. He had to admit that when she said out loud it did sound ridiculous. "I don't want you to see him anymore."

"Who?"

"Peter fucking Quinn!"

"For the last time you fucking moron, this is not about Peter Quinn. This is about you and me and how fucked up things have always been between us! Let me ask you Aaron, how long have you been interested in me. How long?!" She order as she rose from the sofa and looked down at Hotch, glaring at him.

Hotch also stood up and crossed his arms as he stared at Emily. "How long what?"

"When did you first find me attractive Hotch? And tell me the fucking truth. Was it before Foyet?" Hotch remained silent as Emily spoke up again, "Tell me!"

"Yes" he growled.

"But you didn't do anything about it, did you? Did you?"

"No" He admitted as their eyes remained locked. Emily wasn't backing down this time. She was sick of his shit and unlike other women, she wasn't intimated by him.

"And why not?"

"I don't know."

Emily laughed at the deceptive statement, "Get out of my house."

"What?!" Hotch asked in disbelief.

"Until you can tell me the truth get out. Just go home Hotch" she ordered in a quieter voice as she walked over to the door and opened it for him.

"What do you want from me Emily?" He asked as he walked out of the door.

"I can't do this right now. I need time" was all she said as she closed the door behind him. She waited to hear the sound of footsteps fade before moving the table back against the door and repositioning the vase to fall if anyone tried to enter. She retrieved her gun from her bedroom and sat back in the single chair facing the front door, more exhausted and emotionally drained than she was before. She laughed bitterly when she reflected on the day's events. Ian Doyle had already begun to fuck up her life, and he didn't even know it yet.

* * *

He had barely slept all that night, tossing and turning, thinking about Emily. She was driving him crazy. Why couldn't she just make things simpler for him? Why couldn't she just give him a chance now that he was ready? Why couldn't she just stay away from Peter Quinn? Peter Quinn, fucking Peter Quinn, just the name set Hotch off. How could Emily defend Peter Quinn? How could she have anything to do with him? What had she done with him? As he stewed alone in his bed Hotch thought back to Emily. He thought back to how alone he had felt and if he was honest, how much he missed the touch of a woman. _Fuck that I'm horny _he admitted with a sigh. He decided to work off the energy with a run. He was planning on training for the upcoming FBI triathlon anyway and he might as well use the time he had actually had.

As soon as he arrived at the quiet Virginia park he pushed himself to the limit, faster, harder, punishing his body, desperately trying to clear his head of thoughts of Emily, and Haley. Fuck. How come it always came back to Haley? She haunted his thoughts, tortured his subconscious, permeated his dreams. Everything came back to her, and that's when he realized it. He needed to move on. He needed someone else to help him clear the slate, to help him try to forget her. To help him try to move on from the memories and hopes and dreams of 'them.' It wasn't so much an emotional need as much as it was a carnal one. And maybe it wasn't fair to put that on Emily. Maybe it wasn't smart either, to disturb the dynamics of the team just because he needed a physical release. And he did need one.

After finally slowing down he was approached by a brunette woman who was a few paces behind him. She was older than Emily, not quite as stunning, but beautiful all the same. "Jeez, I hope you're training for something. Or are you just doing sprints for fun?"

"No, I'm, uh I'm trying to do this triathlon in February, so…" He trailed off, confused about where the conversation was headed.

"Oh, yeah. The FBI one. You're an agent" she guessed in a flirtatious voice as she batted her eyelids.

Hotch had to admit that she had pretty eyes, even if the batting of the eyelashes was a bit cliché. Emily would only bat her eyelashes ironically he mused as he replied to her assumption, "Yeah, it is the FBI one."

"I'm not supposed to ask if you're an agent."

"I work for the Justice Department."

"Oh."

"Yeah" this was awkward, but also exciting. Hotch couldn't remember the last time a perfect stranger flirted with him.

"I've seen you doing laps at the Y, too."

"And you're training for surveillance?"

She giggled, "I am doing an MS triathlon. It's in January, but I'm not in as big a rush as you."

"Well, I just have about 45 minutes a day, so, you know, between work and home and it's hard."

"How's your biking going?"

"Oh, I don't know. My tires are inflated, I think" he replied with a small smile.

"Well, you know, I am not the best cyclist, so I was gonna ride this weekend, and I could use some tips, if you're not busy."

"I just don't know my schedule" _I also don't know if I'm technically involved with someone or not. _

"Yeah. Or we could just see each other out here or at the pool sometime."

"But I should find out in the next couple of days and I could call you" Hotch offered, opting to take the leap. Maybe Emily wasn't the right person to try to help him forget about Haley and maybe this new mystery woman was.

"That'd be great. Um, I-I have a card somewhere. Here." Hotch glanced at the card. _Beth Clemmons, Dog Walker. _"Just temporarily" Beth clarified with a smile.

"Um, yeah. If something changes."

"It could be fun. Or at the least, an adventure."

Hotch chuckled before looking up at the woman again, "So, uh, what made you think I was an agent?"

"I saw the suit. What else could you be?"

"Well bye" Hotch concluded at the two departed. He had to admit that Beth Clemmons: temporary dog walker was very forward. But maybe forward was a good thing. Maybe this was what he needed, something simple to help him figure things out. She never explicitly said it but Emily didn't seem like she was interested in him anymore. And he had reached the point where he was tired of waiting. He wanted something, now. He wanted to move forward. He just wasn't anticipating that it would be with Beth rather than Emily.

And neither was anyone else.

* * *

Morgan was on his way to hand over a few files over to Hotch when he decided to pop into JJ's office and pay her a visit, hoping to do some recon on his brunette partner. Emily was running late, again, which was so unlike Emily. As a result Morgan was worried about his female counterpart, who seemed down ever since the team finished their work with the task force. He and Garcia had talked about Quinn after Hotch's conference room revelation and they both worried that what Hotch had said about the CIA agent was wearing on Emily, even though they were sure that she and Hotch were dating.

"Hey JJ" Morgan finally greeted as JJ hung up the phone.

"Hey Morgan what's up?"

"I don't know but Prentiss seems stressed to me. Have you noticed that?"

JJ sighed, she too had been worried about Emily's recent withdrawn behavior. "Yeah she seems off."

"Right? Ever since Quinn left. But like I said, I don't know. All I know is that she looks stressed but she won't talk to me about whatever is bothering her. I'm worried about her" Morgan admitted as he glanced down at the floor. "Baby girl said she asked her what was wrong and she just kind of ignored her about it. She said she was fine."

"Well Emily has been hit by a truck before and claimed she was fine" JJ reminisced as she and Morgan began to laugh over the memory. Emily Prentiss never was one to complain, about anything.

"I just wish she would talk to us. You know? I wished she knew she could come to us with anything."

JJ pinched the bridge of her nose and let out a sigh, "I know. Me too. Hey can we talk about this later? There's this case in Lafayette, Louisiana that I'm waiting to hear back on. An autistic boy's parents are missing and he showed up at school covered in their blood."

"Yeah sure JJ. I get it, I just wanted to see if you knew anything. I should get these files to Hotch anyway" he admitted as he lifted up the large stack of files that he was going to hand over to the unit chief. "We'll talk about our princess later" he assured with a wink as he walked out of the door.

* * *

Meanwhile an exhausted and sleep deprived Hotch was resting on the couch near the door of his office, bending and playing with the business card the woman from the park had given him. His eyes were closed and he just lightly bending the card between his thumb and index finger when Morgan walked through his office door, surprising him and causing him to effectively flick the business card across the room.

"I got it" Morgan offered in a kind tone as Hotch cringed. He picked up the card and immediately noticed something was off. Hotch didn't have a dog. Why would he need a dog walker? "Hotch" Morgan began as he turned to face his boss, "Who is Beth Clemmons the dog walker?"

**Uh oh. Don't get your pitchforks for Hotch just yet. There is sweet Hotch/Prentiss conversation coming up soon. Also if ****you're a Beth fan I apologize in advance. Actually, do Beth fans even exist? **

**What will the ever-protective Morgan have to say about this recent development?**

**Are Hotch and Emily done for good? Have they been for a while now? **

**How will things change when Emily goes off to fight Doyle?**


	13. Who is Beth Clemmons?

**Any suggested pairings you'd like to see in the future? I'm working on a Demily one-shot at the moment, but any other ideas? **

"I got it" Morgan offered in a kind voice as Hotch cringed. He picked up the card and immediately noticed something was off. Hotch didn't have a dog. Why would he need a dog walker? "Hotch," Morgan began as he turned to face his boss, "Who is Beth Clemmons the dog walker?"

"Morgan did you need to talk to me about something?" Hotch asked in his typical professional monotone. But Morgan was not backing down. This was his partner, his friend, Hotch was fucking with.

"Who is Beth Clemmons the dog walker?"

"She's a dog walker" Hotch offered with a shrug.

"And why do you need a dog walker? You don't have a dog" Morgan challenged with a glare. He had gotten cards like that on multiple occasions and he knew precisely what they meant. _Yeah she wants your business all right, your business not your dog walking business _he internally ranted as he continued to glare disapprovingly at his superior.

"Morgan what did you need for me?"

"Who is Beth Clemmons?" Morgan ordered as JJ entered into the room.

Hotch sighed as JJ entered, "Hotch we have a case in Lafayette, Louisiana…what's going on here?"

"Nothing" Hotch stated firmly as he stood up from the couch.

"Not nothing" Morgan sternly said as he turned to JJ, "He's cheating on Emily."

"What?" JJ gasped. Hotch wasn't that kind of man.

"I am not cheating on Prentiss" he argued. "We are not together and I do not have to justify my personal life to either of you. We are at work and I expect you to act accordingly."

"A little hypocritical don't you think?" Morgan muttered as JJ shot him a warning look.

"What did you say?" Hotch challenged as he stepped closer to Morgan.

"I said I think it's hypocritical to say that to us when _you're_ the one who brought your personal life into work. That was until you tossed her aside from some dog walker."

"Temporary dog walker" Hotch growled.

"Oh come on like that's any better" JJ cut in with a laugh.

Hotch chose the ignore the comments of his subordinate agents. "Conference room ten minutes" He commanded with a glare and he walked over to his desk and fixed his tie. Morgan threw the business card on the floor before walking out of the office with JJ.

* * *

"Can you believe him?" Morgan asked JJ when they entered back into JJ's office. "You're going to have to tell baby girl after Hotch leaves because she is going to freak."

JJ shook her head, "They must not be together. Right?"

"Didn't they have a date though?"

"Yeah but that doesn't mean they're together" JJ argued. She didn't want to believe that Hotch was the type of man to cheat on anyone, and on Emily no less. It was very uncharacteristic of him.

Morgan huffed, this entire situation was stressful. "Okay so is Emily seeing Peter Quinn then?"

"I don't think so, but Derek I really don't know" JJ confessed with a shrug. No one knew what was going on with Emily.

"You know what I can't believe?" Morgan asked in a seething tone. He couldn't believe that Hotch could do that to Emily. _Fucking Asshole. _"You know what? Call up baby girl, we need her."

JJ nodded and texted Garcia to come down to her office, which she did almost immediately. "What is up my chocolate Adonis and my buttercup?" She asked cheerfully.

"Hotch is fucking someone" Morgan answered maliciously.

"Not gumdrop?" Garcia questioned as she looked over to JJ who shook her head. "What is going on?"

"I tell you what's going on baby girl. He makes Emily wait nine moths for him to figure out what he wants and then it takes him weeks to move on from her and on to this Beth Clemmons the dog walker…"

Garcia scoffed at the mention of this new woman, "Dog walker?"

"Temporary dog walker" Morgan clarified, mimicking Hotch's voice.

"What?! I mean I bet she is just some flop, knock-off Emily clone. And come on, dog walker? Get a little more original than stalking someone at the park."

"I don't know Garcia, maybe they aren't together. Go get Emily" JJ ordered as she checked her watch. They only had five minutes until they were expected in the conference room, but she was more preoccupied by Emily's emotional state. "Morgan you need to leave" she politely ordered.

"What? I'm not leaving. I'm here for Emily" Morgan spoke up defiantly.

"Morgan we need her to open up to us and she might be embarrassed. We'll tell you what is up later. Okay?"

"Fine" Morgan grumbled as he left the office and saw Emily speaking with Garcia.

* * *

Emily heard the clicking of the Garcia's shoes against the BAU floor as the technical analyst approached her desk. "We need to talk" was all Garcia said as she dragged Emily to JJ's office, with Emily almost crashing into Morgan.

"What the fuck?!" Emily scolded. She was in no mood for their antics. She was stressed that now, somehow, Doyle was on U.S. soil. Besides the Doyle debacle she was still struggling with sleep deprivation and frustration about Hotch, who was being such a dick as of late.

"We need to talk to you" JJ said in a soothing tone. She didn't want to upset Emily any more than she already was, but she also knew that if she was going to be able to focus on the new case she had to get this Hotch matter out of the way. Additionally, Emily deserved to know what Hotch was up to.

"What?"

"Are you seeing Hotch?"

Emily shook her head in disbelief. What this really what all of this was about? "No, not really. I told him I needed some time to figure stuff out. Why?" JJ and Garcia shared a look. So maybe Hotch wasn't lying, but he wasn't exactly being truthful either. There was a difference between needing time and flat-out not dating. And they both knew that Hotch knew the difference between the two. "Why?" Emily asked in a curt tone.

"What happened with Peter Quinn?" JJ asked, ignoring Emily's question entirely.

"Nothing."

"What do you mean nothing? Did you choose Hotch over him?"

Emily huffed at the line of questioning, she had enough. "What is this about? Yes I told Peter that I picked Hotch over him. Why? What the fuck is going on?"

Garcia gently put her hand on Emily's arm, "Honey, he met someone new."

"W-what?" Emily asked in an obviously shocked tone as she glanced over to Garcia.

"He had a business card of some Beth" Garcia fake gagged at the name as JJ shot her a disapproving look, "He said you aren't together."

"We aren't" Emily admitted in a soft voice. She was surprised that Hotch would make her wait for nine months, but that he couldn't give her a few days of time. But the simple fact was that she wasn't devastated. She wasn't heartbroken. She should have been, right? She should have been angry, hurt, depressed, betrayed by what he had done, but part of her didn't care. How had Hotch become irrelevant to her?

"Are you okay?" JJ gently coaxed as Garcia continued to rub Emily's arm.

"Is it weird that I'm not devastated?" Emily asked as she locked eyes with JJ.

"You should feel whatever you need to feel. It's okay that you aren't upset, it's probably better. But what does that mean for you and Hotch?"

"I-I don't know."

"Gumdrop, do you think that you've been fighting for something that didn't exist anymore?" Garcia asked in a gentle voice.

"Maybe. I think I've had doubts for a while now, but I wanted to try you know?" Both Garcia and JJ nodded in reply. "But it just didn't feel right. It never felt right, and if I'm being honest I was being unfair too because I knew. I knew that we weren't ever going to live happily ever after and I dragged it out anyway. I knew from our first coffee date. Fuck, I knew from when he first asked me out that it wasn't right. But I wanted to try. I didn't want to feel like I had wasted all that time waiting for something that didn't exist. You know?"

"Yeah" JJ nodded with a small smile.

"You shouldn't be upset with him. He's right, I did choose him but I also didn't" Emily shrugged as she thought back to Quinn. But now wasn't the time to think about Quinn, now was the time to focus on defeating Doyle. She couldn't drag Quinn into her issue with Doyle.

"And Peter?" Garcia asked hopefully. She had a soft spot for the snarky CIA agent who seemed to make Emily happy.

Emily took a deep breath, "I guess it just wasn't mean to be." JJ looked down her watch as Emily continued, "I think Hotch needs a rebound and I never wanted to be that to him. I think that maybe if we had tried earlier, before Haley died, maybe then it would have been different. But now, I will always be his second choice. He could have had me back then but didn't. He didn't because he wanted to get back together with her and we all know it, and maybe this Beth woman is up for being his second choice but I'm not" Emily said firmly. "I don't want to be someone's second option."

"And you shouldn't be" JJ assured with a smile. "You're better than that."

"He needs to move on, and you should be supportive of that" Emily said pointedly to Garcia who scowled. Okay with Emily or not, she and Morgan were going to hate this Beth, and there was nothing Emily could do about it. "I'm just not the one he's going to be moving on with and, honestly, that's okay. I think it's better this way."

JJ and Garcia shared a look of relief before JJ spoke up, "We have a briefing in the conference room. Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm okay" Emily confirmed with a smile. Well she was as 'okay' as she could be with Ian Doyle looming in the distance.

"And just so you know, we have no problem hating her for you. I already hate her anyway, she just sounds so blah" Garcia assured. "Morgan is totally on board too."

"Thanks?" Emily stated with a chuckle as the three left JJ's office.

**I know that after this chapter some are you are happy and some are disappointed, but I hope you understand why I didn't couple Hotch and Emily together. Ultimately I felt like that even though Hotch and Emily seemed connected he was always hung up on Haley, even when he had been dating Beth (barf) for like two years. Anyway, I felt like Emily was such a great character that she deserved to be someone's first choice, that after all of her personal pain she should have been someone's great love. Now does that mean Quinn is coming ****back? Maybe yes, maybe no…You'll just have to read on and see.**

**I really do wish that I could make everyone happy, but with a love triangle it's pretty much impossible. I hope Hotchiss fans will still read on because there is not only a heart to heart on the plane coming up between the two, but Hotch's redemption is also approaching.**

**The next chapter is a twist of the episode Lauren. It may seem a bit rushed at first, but I'm only cutting to an important part of the episode which helps end our story. Any predictions about what is going to happen? ****I'd love to read them in the reviews section.**

**Also I'm thinking of doing an epilogue. Would you be interested in reading one and if so, what would you like to see in it?**

**Thanks again for reading/reviewing. **


	14. Two Shots

**This is the chapter with the twist on the Doyle saga and Hotch's redemption.**

The case in Lafayette had been a tedious one. It was frustrating to have a witness that was unable to communicate what he had seen to the agents or the police. But Reid had been able to break through to the young autistic boy, and they had been able to solve the case. However, it was one of those cases that didn't really feel like a success, a case that cut to the core of the team. It was especially stressful for Emily, but most things were considering the predicament she was in. In addition to working on the case at hand, Emily had been plagued with phone calls and updates on Ian Doyle, communication that she had to hide from the watchful eyes of Morgan, who was still concerned about her. Sometimes she wished that she had a less emotionally invested partner. She was sitting alone with her thoughts, enjoying the peaceful quiet and relatively safety when Hotch sat next to her.

"I need to talk to you" he remarked in a morose tone. Emily nodded, even though it was the last thing she wanted to do. "I assume that Morgan, JJ and probably Garcia already spoke to you."

"Yeah…" Emily drifted off, deciding against elaborating.

"I want to apologize for everything. For how I've been acting. For how I've lied to you" he said in a soft voice before taking a deep breath and continuing. "You were right, about me and Haley. There will always be a part of me that will be connected to her, a part of me that will belong to her. There's always going to be a part of me that…"

"Wonders what could have been if she had the chance" Emily interjected as Hotch smiled sadly.

"And I hate it but I have to move on with my life. I have to try with someone else and I just don't know how much I can give, ever. I don't know if it will be just physical or what I can handle. And with you, I could never do that to you because it would not only ruin our friendship but also the team dynamic."

"I know."

"And there was this other woman and…does that make me a horrible person to do that to her?" Hotch asked as he scanned the cabin, making sure that no one else was listening.

"No" Emily chuckled. Hotch really was out of the dating game. "I mean it is if you led her on and claimed that you wanted something real when all you wanted was to hook up with her to try to move on from your ex-wife. Then yes, that would be wrong. But Hotch, people rebound all the time. You just don't know this because you haven't dated anyone since high school."

Hotch nodded as he looked up at Emily, "I wanted to try with you, but it wasn't…"

"It didn't ever feel right did it?" She questioned knowingly, completing his thought.

"No. And it should have but, but I think I waited too long."

"Yeah you suck" Emily teased as Hotch gave her a legitimate smile that showed off his dimples. "Hotch, Haley was important to you. The most important person in your life aside from Jack, who is also a part of Haley. And that's okay, but it's also okay to try to move on for her. I just don't think that I'm that person for you."

"We tried though" Hotch said quietly as Emily nodded in reply. They had tried, they had tried for months, maybe even years. But it wasn't enough, it wasn't enough for them. It wasn't enough for Emily to be his second choice, his rebound.

"You know better than anyone that with the job we do, it's hard enough to make a relationship work even when two people are right for each other."

"I do. But we can still be friends, like before?" Hotch asked apprehensively, worried that he had already ruined the group dynamic.

"Yeah."

"Good because Jack might disown me if we weren't" he quipped.

Emily smiled at the small joke, "So who is she?"

"A dog walker" he confessed as he blushed slightly.

Emily giggled at his embarrassment, "They were mean to you about that weren't they?"

"Well they prefer you" Hotch admitted. "But you prefer Peter Quinn, don't you?"

"Hotch you do know that we were never girlfriends right? Our old relationship was never gossiping about our love lives" she reminded him with a smirk.

"But I did tell you about Beth."

Emily rubbed her eyes and relented. "Hotch, this never was about Peter" Emily claimed, but Hotch knew otherwise. He picked up on how he was now the more formal 'Hotch' but Quinn remained 'Peter.'

"You're calling me Hotch again" he noted as he rose up from the chair. "It was fun while it lasted."

"Good luck" Emily wished with a smile.

"You too" he offered her as he went back to his seat to continue working on paperwork. It was a kind sediment, and one she thoroughly needed. Because she knew he was coming for her, and probably her loved ones too. And if the choice ever presented itself Emily would choose her team's lives over her own every single time.

* * *

While the team worked on a complex local case that seemed to be the work of a family annihilator they noticed that Emily was pulling away, even more than she was before. JJ and Garcia had confronted Hotch about it, but he had informed them that Emily and he had worked it all out. That they had made peace with their relationship as it was, realizing they just didn't work as on a romantic level. Most of all, if he was honest, Hotch knew that Emily connected to Quinn on a more basic level then she ever connected to him.

Then Garcia assumed that Emily was pregnant and didn't know who her 'baby daddy' was, which was also an incorrect assumption.

Emily had known from the get go that this case was the work of Doyle, that it was him luring her. He was luring her team. But it was the death of Tsia Mosley that pushed her over the edge. She felt responsible, she had effectively sent Tsia to Doyle. She had sent her to her death. Nevertheless, at least Tsia knew what was going on. At least she wasn't completely "innocent" in Doyle's mind. But her team was innocent. They had no idea who Ian Doyle was or what he had done, what he was capable of doing. And that is when she decided that she had to protect them, she had to take the fight to him, on his turf, to protect the people she loved.

And that is what she did after slipping out of the BAU doors and boarding a commercial flight to Boston, under the name Saoirse McAvoy, an Irish name, how poetic.

While the team back in D.C. was busy trying to discern what had happened to her, Emily was collecting intel on Doyle, hunting him like he had done to her. Except she, unlike him, didn't have the support of the team. Not at the moment anyway. Her backup would come later, that was a given. The only question was, would they get to her in time?

Or would he get to them first?

* * *

"Agent Prentiss is the only friendly in the building. Rescuing her is our primary objective" Hotch reminded the group of FBI agents, SWAT team members, and police officers collected in front of him before Morgan cut in to give further instruction.

"Our only advantage here is stealth. Once they know we're on site, there's nothing to stop them from killing her. So we keep it quiet until we get to her."

As the rest of the group dispersed, gearing up for the warehouse infiltration, Hotch pulled Morgan aside. "You need to remember that we focus on Prentiss, not on catching Doyle."

"Hotch…" Morgan argued before Hotch interrupted.

"Doyle will be taken care of, focus on finding Prentiss" he sternly reiterated as he walked away.

Upon arriving to the warehouse the team split up, Morgan going off in one direction while Reid, JJ, Rossi, and Hotch scattered into others. They were all anxious to find Emily, hoping for the best, unable to prepare for the worst. As the mercenaries' bodies dropped one by one the team cleared section by section of the large warehouse, desperately searching for her.

But it was Morgan who eventually found her, without Ian Doyle.

* * *

"Tell me. Where is he? Emily, tell me where he is" Doyle pleaded with the bleeding woman before him as he heard the gunfire approaching.

"No" Emily replied adamantly as Doyle gazed at her a final time before slipping through an open window, confident that someday soon he would find his son. Absolutely positive that he would have the opportunity to see him again, to raise him to be a warrior like he had always planned. Lauren or Emily or whoever-the-fuck-she-was could no longer stop him.

Doyle ran through the shadowy alleyway behind the warehouse with cat-like precision, his light footsteps the only discernible sound in the quiet night. The relative silence was peaceful, almost calming. It was a presence that Ian Doyle desperately needed after stabbing the woman that he once thought he had loved. But the sense of calm was short-lived.

"Doyle" a quiet voice uttered as two shots rang out in the dark alleyway.

**Who shot Doyle?**

**Was this Hotch's act of redemption or was it something else entirely?**

**Predictions?**

**I'm still debating whether or not to do an epilogue so let me know in the reviews section if you'd like to read one. **


	15. One Reason, Three Words, Eight Letters

**Who killed Doyle? And don't worry, Doyle is really dead.**

_Clyde__ Easter crossed his hands on the interrogation room table, leaning forward as he addressed Hotch, "Agent Hotchner, you took an oath to protect the laws of your country, and I took one to protect the secrets of mine. __Do you understand what you're asking?"_

_"I know it's not easy."_

_"I'll do it. __If you join me." Clyde briefly paused before he continued on, "__You see, there's no catching that man. __He'd escape from your prison as easily as he did North Korea's. __And then, all hell breaks loose. __If you want to stop that man, you have to put a bullet between his eyes yourself. __Can you do that? Can you break your oath, agent Hotchner?"_

_"No" Hotch simply and almost apologetically replied. _

_"Can you take one, then? Can you swear that your team will save her?"_

_"Yes" Hotch assured as JJ knocked lightly on the door and entered into the room._

_"The British consul's here."_

_"Could you tell him I'll be right out? I'm consulting with the BAU on a case."_

_As the trio walked into the Boston Police Department bullpen JJ pulled Hotch aside, lightly grabbing his suit jacket to get his attention, "__When you killed Foyet you did it because you had to. You knew that he was never going to stop until he got to Jack. You did everything you needed to. You did everything to protect him, and you would have done the same for Haley." JJ paused and glanced down at the floor before she began to speak again in the same quiet voice, "__Ian Doyle is never going to stop until he gets to Emily. He's never going to give up until...until her kills her Hotch. We both know that."_

_"JJ what are you asking of me?" Hotch asked in a somewhat frantic voice as scanned the empty hallway, ensuring that no one else could hear their conversation._

_"I'm saying that Emily deserves the same protection you were wiling to give your family, that she deserves someone who would be willing to do anything to save her. I'm saying that if there was ever a part of you that loved her, you'll call him. You'll call the person who would do anything to protect her" JJ admonished as they joined Clyde to brief the team. _

* * *

"Doyle" Quinn calmly said as he shot Ian Doyle in the quiet alleyway behind the warehouse, shooting him once in the chest before putting a bullet between his eyes.

JJ ran out to the empty alleyway to find Quinn repositioning his silencer pistol in the back of his jeans, "You came."

"You called" he replied in a quiet voice. "Is she?"

"They're taking her to Mass General. It doesn't look good" she confessed as Quinn nodded sadly.

"I have to call my superior, take care of things here" he informed her as his head motioned over to Ian Doyle's dead body. "If she…will you tell her that I came?"

"No" JJ answered firmly as she began to walk away before turning around to face Quinn. "You're going to tell her yourself."

* * *

The team huddled together in the hospital waiting room, each individual's thoughts focused solely on Emily.

Garcia just couldn't stop crying, in disbelief that she could possibly lose a close friend that she cherished and idolized so. She knew something was wrong, why did she ever let it go? She should have never just let Emily walk out of the BAU bathroom. Emily had always been there for her, and when Emily needed her most she let her down. Never again was Emily going to get away with something like that again. Garcia was certain of it.

Reid was sitting in between Rossi and JJ, in shock that the issue with Doyle could have gotten this far without his knowledge. Wasn't he a better profiler than that? He finally recognized that his inability to discern what was going on wasn't due to his lack of skills, but because of how exceptional Emily's were. The realization brought the smallest smile to his face.

Rossi wondered if there was anything he could have done to help Emily, extremely proud of what she had done, how she had risked her life to save that child. To him, it was the essence of the woman that he had come to view as a daughter.

Hotch stood pacing in the waiting room, guilty over the emotional turmoil he had put Emily through. He promised himself that from that point on he would always support her in whatever decisions she made, both professional and personal. He was also frustrated that, in a way, he had failed her, but relieved that Quinn hadn't.

Morgan was completely focused on comforting Garcia. He needed a sense of purpose to distract him from the situation at hand. Anyone that even remotely knew him could tell that Morgan was obviously still haunted by his prior interaction with a dying Emily Prentiss in his arms, the sentence 'l_et me go' _quickly becoming the most revolting group of words he had ever heard. He didn't understand how this had happened. How he could have allowed it to happen? The immense guilt over judging Emily's ethics finally caught up with Morgan, crushing him as the minutes in the waiting room ticked by.

JJ leaned against Reid's shoulder, emotionally exhausted from the last few hours. Emily was her best friend and she couldn't lose her. The world was just a better place with Emily Prentiss in it. What she had done, the sacrifices she had made, they were monumental. She had put herself through all of this for them, to save them. JJ asked herself if she would have done the same? Would she have been brave enough? She knew that people always claim that they would be the hero. People like to think that when it came down to it, to the dreaded flight or fight response, that they would fight for their loves ones. They would defend and protect the defenseless. That they would be prepared to make the ultimate sacrifice. But how many people actually came through in those circumstances? JJ turned to look at Reid and decided that it wasn't the time to badger him about statistics.

The team waited as the hours passed, until finally a doctor came out to greet them. The words he uttered drifted through them, very few of them making an impression. "Blood loss" was a phrase that stuck collectively in their minds, along with "coded in the ambulance." But no one heard what he had said after "she's been stabilized," because besides Emily being alive what really mattered? The unit was informed that she wouldn't wake up for a few hours and that they should go and get some rest. Like that was going to happen.

And then there was Quinn. Peter Quinn had spent the last few hours pacing around the perimeter of the hospital, chomping nervously on nicotine gum. He was surprised to find JJ waiting for him near the hospital entrance as he prepared to walk by it for the eighth time that evening.

"She's going to be okay" JJ confirmed as she noticed a smile spread across Quinn's face.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. How long have you been out here? Chewing gum?" JJ inquired with an eyebrow raised.

Quinn sighed as he looked down at his watch. All time had once again meshed together. "I don't know, a few minutes after we talked and I handed over Doyle's body. I would offer you some but I'm trying to quit smoking" he remarked as he pointed to his mouth. He discerned that JJ had picked up on his nervous chewing.

"Did you know?"

"About?" Quinn asked, wary about how much information he should let on to JJ.

"Doyle."

"I little. I didn't know he was back. If I did…" Quinn drifted off but JJ caught what he was trying to say.

"You would have tried to kill him a lot sooner."

"Yeah but considering that Emily didn't do that it probably wasn't that simple anyway" he confessed as he rubbed his eyes.

"She'll be waking up soon."

"Yeah?"

"She'd want to see you."

"I don't know about that" Quinn conceded as he looked up briefly at the morning sky, the bright sunlight irritating his sensitive eyes.

"I do" JJ said in a firm tone. "Listen, I'm going to be honest with you. I always pulled for Hotch and Emily to be together, but, but you and her...I can see it. We both know you love her. We both know you need to see her. So you should see her" JJ concluded as she walked back into the hospital waiting room.

* * *

A few hours later JJ was finally allowed to visit Emily, as her anesthesia began to wear off. The rest of the team had already been to see her, except for JJ who decided to wait until Emily was more alert. Emily looked exceptionally pale and exhausted in her hospital gown, lying weakly in the small uncomfortable hospital bed. It had looked as if the last few weeks of constant vigilance over Doyle coupled with the blood loss had finally caught up with her.

"Emily?" JJ quietly responded as Emily began to lightly stir, waking up from the nap she had taken after her breathing tube was removed. It was the first time she had been alert since being rushed into emergency surgery the night before.

"Is he?" Emily asked, not needing to finish the question.

"Dead."

"And the team?"

"Everyone is okay Emily, Declan too" JJ smiled as a look of relief washed over Emily. "How do you feel?"

"Fine considering" Emily said with a small smile that made JJ laugh.

"When are you ever not going to be fine?"

"I'll let you know."

"Yeah right" JJ scoffed playfully as she lightly took hold of Emily's hand again. "What did Hotch say?" JJ questioned, remembering that the unit chief had spoken with the brunette after her ventilator had been removed.

"That he was proud of what I did, but wished I had come to him. I'm so sorry, I just…"

"I know" JJ reassured gently. "You did what you thought was best."

"I think Morgan is mad at me" Emily confessed sadly.

JJ shook her head in response, "He'll get over it." She paused briefly before changing the subject, "So someone has been waiting to see you."

"Who?" Emily questioned curiously, raising an eyebrow in confusion. Hadn't she already seen all of the team? _How many drugs do they have me on in this fucking hospital?_

"Peter Quinn, he came as soon as he heard. He's still here, chomping on nicotine gum as we speak" JJ chuckled as a grin spread across Emily's face. "He's been waiting to see you."

"Yeah, well, patience is a virtue" Emily remarked sarcastically.

"Well Peter Quinn may be many things, but I don't think he's ever qualified as being virtuous" JJ giggled as Emily rolled her eyes.

After a few moments of silence past Emily spoke up in a barely audible voice, "He killed him didn't he? Doyle?"

"Yeah" JJ confirmed as she gave Emily a knowing look.

"That's what friends do" Emily offered as JJ waved off the ludicrous remark.

"Emily…"

"It's what you guys did" Emily challenged.

"Emily, Quinn risked his job, everything for you. I think we both know it's not about being friends. I think we know it had never been about being friends with you" JJ stated bluntly. "You should talk to him" she ordered kindly as she left the room to find Quinn. She found him walking the hospital hallways, chewing furiously on a new piece of gum. "How many times have you bit your cheek so far chewing like that?" JJ inquired with a small smile.

"At least four or five times" he confessed, causing her to chuckle.

"Go talk to her so you won't look like such a stalker" she playfully ordered as she walked in the direction of the hospital cafeteria to find a much needed cup, or vat, of coffee.

* * *

"Hey" Quinn greeted as he walked through the hospital room door. In typical Quinn fashion he was wearing a pair of dark rumpled jeans with a wrinkled grey chambray shirt and a matching wrinkled black jacket. His short hair was messy and his bloodshot eyes had dark bags under them. Emily thought he looked completely worn out.

"You look like shit" she teased, knowing she didn't look much better in her hospital bed. "When was the last time you sat down?"

"I don't know" he admitted as he took the vacant visitor's chair next to Emily's bed.

"So why'd you do it?" Emily asked, not needing to give any more clarification to the younger man in front of her.

"I told you, I kill bad guys."

"But this wasn't your bad guy. Was he?" Emily questioned in a stern voice as Quinn looked down to the floor.

"I got approval, to do it."

"Before or after?"

Quinn took a deep breath before answering, "After" he confessed in the same gentle voice he had used with her so far that morning.

"Really then, why'd you do it?" Emily pressed on.

"You know why. I should have fought for you" he answered before he gave her the one reason, three words, eight letters. "I love you."

Emily's voice cracked when she cut into the relative silence, save for the various medical machinery. "Peter, I am so fucked up."

"No you're not" He argued as he leaned forward, his elbows resting on his knees. "You are the strongest person I know and even if you are fucked up, you're in no way more fucked up than I am" He remarked genuinely as he looked lovingly at her, leaving normally his intense gaze behind. "Emily I get you, I get everything about you. We understand each other. We get it" he rambled.

"We do" she admitted.

"We do" he reiterated as he took her hand.

"There are so many things I cannot give you…"

"Then I'll take what you can."

"Peter it's not that simple" Emily insisted as Quinn shook his head in reply.

"It is. Maybe life isn't simple, but this is."

Emily bit her bottom lip and closed her eyes before she spoke again, "You're not mad?"

Quinn tilted his head to the side slightly, denoting his confusion about the question. "About what?"

"About what I did. Going after Doyle solo."

"What you did for your team, for the people you love. Emily it was fucking incredible" he sincerely said, prompting her to smile. Quinn leaned down and gently kissed Emily, with her hands lightly brushing the nape of his neck.

After he pulled back Emily smirked, "Do you normally sexually harass hospital patients?"

"Only on special occasions" Quinn cracked as he noticed the brand on Emily's chest that could be seen after her hospital gown had slipped.

"Fuck" she mumbled as she hurriedly tried to cover it up, with Quinn sensing her embarrassment.

"You know Khalil Gibran once said 'out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls, the most massive characters are seared with scars.'"

"Do you really believe that?"

"I do now" Quinn confessed with a smile as Emily started to laugh.

"So…what do we do now?"

Quinn giggled in reply, "I have no fucking idea. I have no idea" he shrugged before leaning down to lightly kiss Emily's forehead before whispering in her ear. "But I don't care. I just do not care. We'll figure it out." He took a deep breath before mumbling against her neck, "Tell me something about yourself."

"Peter I'm obviously not going anywhere" Emily replied as she motioned to her hospital bed.

"Tell me anyway" he gently ordered with a twinkle in his eye.

"Like what?"

"Anything about yourself."

"I think I love you too" she admitted with a grin as she intertwined her fingers with his. Never before had a hospital ever been so tolerable.

"Aren't you glad that you didn't shoot me?" Quinn dryly commented, making Emily laugh. And that is when she knew that even after everything that had happened she was going to be okay.

"Yet" Emily corrected with a lopsided grin.

"Yet."

**Did you pick up on any of the call backs from earlier chapters? There were a few but the most important one was the _one reason, three words, eight letters_ line that referred back to chapter 2 when Emily was talking to Hotch. **

**Does Emily take the Interpol job in the epilogue or does she stay with the BAU?**


	16. Epilogue

**Four Years Later**

"How long do you think we have?" Quinn asked Emily, who was lovingly doting on their newborn daughter in the maternity ward hospital room.

At the moment she was thoroughly preoccupied with her infant daughter, lighting running her fingers through the baby's dark hair. It had always bewildered Quinn that Emily worried she wouldn't be an outstanding parent, mostly because she had always seemed so natural with children. Her manner with them always put any child at ease.

"Until what?" She asked absent-mindedly as she continued to gaze at the little girl until looking up to Quinn, who was holding a fussy two-year old boy in his arms. The energetic young boy was squirming in his father arms, trying to get away. "You having trouble there?" Emily asked with a smirk.

Quinn sighed as he looked down at the fussy little boy, "His godfather thought it would be a good idea to let him pick whatever he wanted from the snack machine. JJ wasn't around to monitor them, and now we're paying for it."

Emily laughed, she knew exactly what Quinn was referring to. Ever since the day Harrison Carter Quinn was born, Morgan had catered to their son's every whim. But who could resist the charms of the precious little boy? Well except for Sergio, who despised the energetic toddler. Having her own son, JJ was a little better at not giving into her godson's every desire, but even she spoilt Harrison rotten. She blamed it on the Prentiss grin he inherited from his mother coupled with the dimples he was gifted with from his father. In fact, the entire BAU team dotted on the boy, especially Garcia. Quinn had remarked that it was because Harrison looked like a carbon copy of Emily, with his raven hair, dark eyes, pale skin, bountiful eyelashes, and facial expressions. As a result, Quinn had served as an irritation to his son on more than one occasion, mostly when the little boy was deep in thought, prompting Quinn to erupt into a fit of giggles. It was mainly because when Harrison was seriously contemplating something he chewed on his bottom lip, just like Emily did. Harrison had also picked up the Prentiss bad habit of biting his fingernails, a habit that both mother and son were trying to curb. They often failed.

"It's only a matter of time before Morgan and Garcia break down the doors to get in here" Quinn commented with a smile, looking down to a pouting Harrison.

"Down" he huffed in frustration as he flailed his arms. He really wanted to see what was under that hospital bed.

"H.Q., mommy is very tired and you need to stop being so crazy. How many times did you run away from your Uncle Derek and Aunt Penelope today?" Quinn asked to make his point. He already knew the answer.

"Four" Harrison admitted quietly as he hung his head in disappointment. Four times the two-year old had escaped from two FBI Agents, forcing them to run frantically around the hospital looking for him. But Harrison had two parents with CIA history so what do you expect?

"The boy has skills" Quinn shrugged to a laughing Emily.

Emily turned to another small boy in the room. He was about 7 years old, had light brown hair, and looked quite a bit like Quinn. "John, you want to hold your sister?" She asked with a smile as the little boy nodded and took a seat on the visitor's chair closer to Emily's bed.

"She's so tiny" he remarked, prompting Emily and Quinn to start laughing. "Hi" John said sweetly to newborn. It had been a couple of weeks after Emily had found out she was pregnant with Harrison when she noticed that her husband seemed a little down heartened and more withdrawn that usual. He finally confessed that he was thrilled about the baby, but was it was a constant reminder of how he had failed his other child. In the end had been Emily who was able to change things, convincing Quinn's Philadelphia police officer ex-girlfriend, Julia, to give him another chance with John. But then again, Emily had changed a lot of things for Quinn.

"Where is my god-daughter?!" Garcia squealed as she busted through the room's door and ran up to John, who laughed at the woman's antics. To Garcia he was 'her mini Peter Quinn' and John had grown fond of the bubbly technical analyst, but he still favored Emily. When Quinn asked what he loved most about Emily the boy had simply answered, "She watches Star Wars." John had also become friendly with Henry and Jack, as they were all around the same age.

"Here" John offered as Garcia gingerly picked up the baby, cooing at her.

"Name?" She asked as she started smelling newborn's head much to the amusement of Emily and Quinn.

"Charlotte Prentiss Quinn" Emily answered as she looked over to Rossi. "You going to hold your god-daughter sometime this year?" She teased with a smirk as Rossi gleefully walked up to Garcia.

"Hand over the baby" he ordered Garcia.

"Oh, you're going to have pry baby Charlotte out of my cold dead hands" Garcia threatened as she, Rossi, and Morgan all began to argue over who had the privilege of holding Charlotte. While Harrison looked primarily like his mother, Charlotte looked like the perfect combination of both her parents. She had Emily's raven hair, her pale skin, and her eye shape. However, the color of her eyes were all Quinn, as was her nose and already defined cheekbones.

"I want a turn too" Morgan whined as Reid walked over.

"I wouldn't mind holding…"

"Get out of here Reid!" the dueling trio all yelled in unison.

"Poor Reid" Emily commented to a giggling John who she lightly poked in the cheek.

"So Em, when should I put in those calls to Harvard?" Quinn questioned with a smirk as Harrison finally fell asleep in his arms.

"Whenever you want a divorce" Emily answered without missing as beat as JJ walked over to the chuckling parents.

"Aww Harry" JJ said with a smile at the sight of the sleeping boy, "What happened to him?"

"Morgan being a total pushover happened to him" Emily replied as she rolled her eyes.

"Sugar crash" Quinn clarified as he gently placed Harrison in bed with Emily, the little boy curling up to her immediately and quickly taking over most of the bed, much like his mother.

"He's such a momma's boy" JJ chuckled as Harrison flopped an arm over Emily.

Quinn took a deep breath, laughing at JJ's correct assumption as he exhaled, "Yeah, well, who wouldn't be?

"Thanks for watching him by the way" Emily remarked sarcastically.

"I did!" JJ defended. Morgan had waited until she went to the bathroom before he absconded with her godson, getting both of them in trouble with Quinn and Emily.

"I was talking about Morgan" Emily teased with a smile.

Over the years the team had all grown close to Quinn, seeing him as an extension of their BAU family. At first it was only Garcia, JJ, and Reid who were welcoming to him. Rossi was protective of Emily, and Morgan was wary of just about anyone new, especially when it came to his partner. But over the years Quinn had proved himself, namely by supporting Emily though the Doyle situation. It had never been easy, and there were times where their similarities strained their relationship. But they always knew that they loved each other, that much was never questioned. And even as the years passed they kept up their regular routine. Whenever they parted they always preceded their goodbyes with a simple request, _t__ell me something about yourself. _

Nevertheless, it was Quinn's ever constant presence by Emily's side at whatever hospital she found herself in, after a work related injury, that convinced Morgan that he was "all right." But it had been a particular hospital visit that cemented his friendship with the CIA agent. Emily had been admitted to the hospital after being grazed by a bullet while working on a string of home invasions in San Bernardino, and that is when she found out she pregnant with her son. She and Quinn had been trying for a while, but it was a shock nonetheless. It was on the plane ride home when Emily told the first person, after Quinn, about her pregnancy.

* * *

_"How you doing?" Morgan inquired as she sat down across from Emily, a cup of tea in hand for her. _

_"I'm all right."_

_"Emily, I'm so sorry."_

_"Out there in the field, sorry doesn't bring people back" she teased, imitating him with a smirk. _

_"Oh."_

_"Come on, I'm messing with you. __It's nothing, really. __I'm ok. __This isn't your fault" she assured the man in front of her. _

_"Actually, it is."_

_"You're a team leader. __You made a tactical decision."_

_"And you got hurt. __Again."_

_Emily sighed, she really did hate being treated like a porcelain doll. "__You did what you thought was right. __And that's all you can do. __The rest of it, that's not up to us. __That's the job. __This is nothing, really." After watching him seem to relax Emily spoke up again, "__I mean, the thing with Doyle, that was... I'm kidding! I'm…" She drifted off as she stared out of the plane window. "If I tell you something you can't run to Garcia. Okay?" She more ordered than asked as she raised an eyebrow._

_"Okay" he agreed._

_"So at the hospital I found out that...I'm pregnant" she said softly with a chuckle._

_"And you went into the field?" Morgan scolded with a look of disbelief on his face. How could Emily be so irresponsible? _

_"I didn't know yet. I told you, I just __found out at the hospital. Anyway, I talked to Peter and he suggested you as the godfather" she said nonchalantly as she went on, "I mean if you want" she shrugged with a small smile._

_"Oh I want very much" he replied firmly with a wide grin._

* * *

"Congratulation you two" Hotch said warmly as he walked over to the beaming parents, stretching out his hand to Quinn and smiling at Emily who was gingerly running her hand up and down Harrison's back.

"Thanks Hotch, you should hold her" Quinn encouraged as he nodded over towards the newborn.

"I think I'm going to wait until her receiving line dies down a bit" he smiled as he pointed over to Reid trying to sneak in to hold Charlotte, only to be pushed away by JJ.

"You should bring Jack over when Emily gets discharged. She'll probably break out of here pretty soon and I have John for a few more days" Quinn suggested. He wasn't sure how it had happened, but somehow the couple's stately white McLean home became the gathering place of the BAU team. He blamed it on the pool, and the wraparound porch. The historic home was also walking distance from the CIA Headquarters, which was another selling point. But what Quinn and Emily liked most about the house was that it lent itself to their new lifestyle, a new lifestyle where they were more open and hospitable with the people they loved.

"I think I will, and Beth?"

"You know she's always welcome" Quinn reminded Hotch as he patted him on the shoulder and walked over to entertain to John, who was getting bored quickly. Babies and hospital only stay fun for so long.

Of course, the last person who approved of Quinn was Hotch.

There was never really a turning point in their relationship. Maybe it was when Quinn assured Emily there was nothing wrong with staying with the BAU for the rest of her career, effectively saying that he approved of her working relationship with Hotch. Many other spouses would have insisted she take the job at Interpol, but Quinn was different. He trusted Emily, and if he was honest, he trusted Hotch too. However, even then Quinn's and Hotch's relationship remained somewhat impersonal, and that would probably never change. But the men respected each other and they trusted each other.

Through the hustle and bustle of the hospital room Emily and Hotch shared a look. There would always be a connection there, a love that wasn't necessarily romantic. Hotch had stayed with Beth, dating her on and off throughout the years. Garcia had suggested that they try to set up Hotch with Carrie Mathison, which had been an utter disaster, just as Quinn had predicted.

No one really knew whether Hotch stayed with Beth for love or companionship, but it appeared that Beth was willing to take whatever Hotch was willing to give her and vice versa. They seemed happy and Jack liked her so no one questioned it. Why would they? Was she the most amazing person in the world? No. But Hotch felt content that he already had Haley, and maybe, if you were lucky, you only got a great love like that once.

Simply put, Hotch and Emily's story began almost 25 years earlier, when he was heading up security for her mother. But all those years ago, after meeting the bright-eyed 18-year-old who was headed off to Yale, Hotch went home to Haley, and part of him always would. _Part_ of him would always belong to her.

But _all_ of Peter Quinn always belonged to Emily.

**The End.**

* * *

**A big thank you to everyone for reading and reviewing, including the devout Hotchiss fans who stuck it out for the ending. Part of me hates 'love triangles' because they always leave someone disappointed, but I hope everyone enjoyed this work ****nonetheless.**

**For my next project I'm torn between two ideas:**

**1.) A dark crime/mystery/romance/at times comedic Emily-Original Character story **

**or **

**2.) A sort of crossover with Grey's Anatomy, akin to this story without the love triangle aspect. With this option I'm thinking about a Emily/Jackson Avery romance, mainly because I loathe April Kepner. Or maybe Prentiss/Karev. I wish Shonda would stop trying to make Jo happen. She's not going to happen. **

**Anyway which would you prefer reading? And if it's the Grey's option, which coupling?**

**Let me know in the reviews section and thanks again.**


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